


By Silver's Light

by voretaq7



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 20:13:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 25,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13061334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voretaq7/pseuds/voretaq7
Summary: Post-SeriesTheo is trying to make his way in Beacon Hills, but things are rough: With the Dread Doctors gone and the McCall pack still keeping him at a distance everyone's favorite chimera can't catch a break, until he does.Angsty Theo, eventualveryslow burn Thiam.Werewolves are known-ish (after the events of 6B it's hard for them not to be), but the supernatural is still not really acknowledged, and the town shies away from the more obviously supernatural folks.





	1. A Job.

Theo climbed out of his truck and pulled his thin leather jacket tight against the chill of a Beacon Hills winter. The jacket, which had seemed warm enough when he got it, wasn't doing much to keep him warm in his truck these days, and while it blocked some of the wind Theo could feel himself shiver as he walked down the street. He briefly considered getting back in his truck and driving to Liam's - the angry puppy was the only member of the pack that seemed to care what happened to Theo and he might offer a couch or something for a few days - but Theo quickly thought better of it: He didn't want to rely on anyone's charity, after all even Liam would eventually realize Theo was no good and send him away. Theo Raken wasn't a charity case - he had to stand on his own, if this town would let him. 

He'd been looking for a job for a couple of months, but after the anuk-ité and the entire town finding out about the supernatural mess hiding in the shadows it seemed like no one in town was interested in hiring him. Down to his last $50 Theo figured if nobody would hire him today he would move on. The thought of leaving Beacon Hills left him with a cold feeling in his stomach. Some part of the werewolf bits the Dread Doctors had spliced into him was calling out for a pack, even if he didn't know how to be part of one, and he couldn't get rid of the feeling that his best chance of finding what he needed was still right here in this town.  
Skulking down the sidewalk with his head down Theo glanced up at each business he passed - the restaurant that told him he wouldn't fit in with their "atmosphere," the hardware store with the "HELP WANTED" sign where the owner told him twice that the position was filled. Finally in front of him at the edge of the Beacon Hills business district was the store that had been empty since he came back from Hell, brown paper covering the windows. Theo started to turn around and walk back to his truck when he noticed the new sign above the doorway - a deep black board with fine sliver calligraphy proclaiming _Silver's Light_ \- and a bright new "HELP WANTED" sign in the window tucked in front of the paper. Theo blew out his breath - a steam cloud dissipating in front of his face - and muttered "Why not? What's one more rejection before I go?" and tried the door.

The door opened, a bell hanging over it jingling as Theo stepped in from the cold. He wrinkled his nose a bit at the smells that came to him - sweet, sharp, and metallic all at once, like nothing he'd ever smelled before. Looking around he saw the front of the shop laid out with plain white walls suspended under an industrial ceiling. Blue tape marked off squares, rectangles and circles on the walls with small note cards in the center of each. The space was clearly still under construction with dust and debris swept into small piles and a pair of toolbelts laying on the window sill. Conduit hung from the ceiling and boxes were piled near each wall. At the back of the shop was a small doorway with "PRIVATE" in red letters next to it, and Theo could make out the sound of running water from the back room, more like rain or a fountain than a faucet. He tilted his head slightly trying to figure out what it was when a deep voice called from the back room "Hey Sam, is it five o'clock already? I'm just finishing up and we can head out."

"Um, I'm not Sam," Theo called back, "I saw your sign. You...uh, are you hiring?"

A tall man came through the doorway dressed in a tight black T shirt and jeans that looked like they'd been through a war - paint splatters, tears, and wear marks showing all the way down to the scuffed leather workboots he wore. He strode over to meet Theo near the front door, sizing him up as he walked over "Oh hey, great! I'm Matt, and you look like you're pretty good with your hands which is awesome because I really need someone to help finish getting everything set up if we're going to open for New Year's Eve. Could probably use some help in the back with with processing and maybe some field work if that's something you'd be interested in, and…"

"Wait," Theo said holding up his hands at a flood of words that would probably shock Stillinski, "what do you even do here? I mean this place looks like a bomb went off in it."

The man laughed and shook his head "Sorry man, getting way ahead of myself huh? OK let's start over. I'm Matt Mason, and this disaster area" he spread his arms wide and gestured at the space " _will be_ the Silver's Light Gallery, planning to open our doors with a New Years Eve party. So right now I'm looking for someone who can help me finish getting the lights up and aimed, get the place cleaned up, and get some art up on these walls so the place isn't totally empty when we open. Sound like something you'd be interested in doing?"

Theo nodded, holding in his disappointment. Setting the place set up in time for some New Year's Eve party, so just under a month of work then. "Yeah, I mean the construction stuff? I can do that, and sweeping up and stuff. So you're just looking for a few weeks of temp help?" At least he could leave Beacon Hills with more than fifty bucks to his name.

"Well yes, but there's lots to do once we're open too. I've got nobody to work the floor or take orders or anything so I'm really looking for that." Theo nodded again, enthusiastically this time with the prospect of work that would keep him in Beacon Hills for a while, then Matt continued "You know, help me knock out catalog descriptions, talk to the customers about the work, and maybe help them pick pieces that compliment whatever they've got in their collections. You're what, like 20? Art student at the college I guess? Should be pretty easy and great experience for you…"

Theo shook his head, crestfallen and slouching "I'm eighteen, but I'm not really in school right now and I don't know much about art. Guess I'm not really what you're looking for." Biting back the tears stinging in his eyes Theo turned to leave "'I'm sorry I wasted your time." 

"Hey, hold up. You're not wasting my time." Matt stepped between Theo and the door "What's your name?"

"Theo." he mumbled, looking past Matt's shoulder to the door.

"Theo," Matt said softly, looking into the Chimera's glistening eyes. "you want the job?"

Theo nodded before he could stop himself.

"Why?"

"What?" Theo asked, still trying to hold back the tears brimming in his eyes.

"Why do you want the job? I mean I'm guessing it's not just because you're bored."

"I... I don't want to leave Beacon Hills," Theo blurted. "I'm out of money and nobody in town really wants to hire me or even have me around 'cuz of what I am, and it's probably stupid but I just... I don't want to leave yet." Theo clenched his jaw, maintaining his composure as best he could.

Matt studied Theo's face for a moment and locked eyes with him "Because of what you are?" Theo's eyes flashed golden for a second before falling to the floor again, and Matt said "OK, you're hired."

Theo's eyes jumped back up to meet Matt's - widening in surprise "Really?"

"Yeah, really." Matt grinned warmly "I'll go get you the paperwork and crap, just fill it out and come by tomorrow around 10 we'll get started fixing this place up."

And just like that, Theo had a job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, short and a little angsty.


	2. A Friend.

Theo managed to find a nice, quiet stretch of road where he could get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep before the Beacon Hills deputies showed up to roust him. He pulled up behind Silver's Light a little before 9 AM and hopped out of his truck, trying the door only to find it locked. He started back toward his truck when the door clicked open, Matt standing there with a bag and two giant cups of coffee in his hands.

"Hey Theo, I'll trade you one of these for your paperwork." Matt grinned, holding out a coffee which Theo took tentatively as he stepped into the back of the gallery. The area was nearly dark except for what light poured in through the open back door and the opposite door leading to the gallery floor. Matt tossed a keyring on the desk and rummaged in the bag and held out a wrapped sandwich to Theo who eyed id warily. "Don't worry, it's not poisoned." Matt chuckled, letting Theo take the hot bundle. "I'm not much for mornings, figured you might want breakfast too."

Theo unwrapped the sandwich - a hot fried egg over sausage with cheese oozing out its edges - and softly said "Th..thanks." as Matt bit into an identical sandwich.

"'s jus' part of the benefits package." Matt chuckled around his mouthful of food as he opened a gray electrical panel and slammed a row of breakers on. The overhead lights flickered to life and fans started humming in the background "I'm going to be tied up back here at least for the morning but I figure you can get started hanging the spots for the east side?" The tracks are all in so it's just hooking the lamps on and getting them pointed mostly at the wall so we can adjust them later. After lunch I'll give you a hand with the next batch. Sound good?"

Theo nodded and Matt helped him hang the first lamp in its track, and once the chimera got the second one in place he gave an approving nod "I'm going to get to work in the back, if you need anything just give a yell or come on back." and he disappeared through the door, leaving Theo to the task of hanging up the lights.

***

Theo had just finished with the last of the lights for the east portion of the gallery when his phone buzzed. He glanced at the display - _Angry Puppy_ \- and accepted the call.

"Theo. Come to Deaton's." - _Nice,_ Theo rolled his eyes _not even a 'Hi Theo.'_

"I can't. I'm working." Theo responded with a hint of irritation.

"You work?"

"Yes, Liam." Theo sighed "My parents aren't around to get me food and clothes and all that so I have to work."

"Well we need you here." Liam insisted.

Matt strode out of the back of the gallery at that moment, peeling blue gloves from his hands. "Shit, Theo I'm sorry it's almost 1:30 you gotta be starving. I'm gonna order a pizza, what do you like?" 

Theo turned guiltily "Liam I gotta go, my boss just walked in." he quickly punched the "End Call" button and stuffed his phone back into his jeans. He started to apologize, but Matt cut him off.

"Pack stuff?"

"Yeah, kinda?" Theo said. He knew he wasn't really part of the pack, but they would use him when it was convenient for them, so this probably qualified.

Matt looked at the lights, then back at Theo "You can go if you need to, looks like you already got more done out here than I would have all week. Come back when you're done, or if it's late I'll see you tomorrow alright?"

Theo hesitated, his hand curling around the phone in his pocket. He bit his lip and looked at the next box of lights as Matt stepped closer, continuing "Look Theo, I'm not going to hold pack stuff against you. If your pack needs you then just tell me and you can go, alright?"

Theo nodded and pulled out his phone "It's really OK if I go?" - Matt Nodded and Theo dialed, speaking as he walked out of the gallery "Liam? I'm on my way. This better be good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I haven't abandoned it. There's actually 3 more chapters of notes.
> 
> Theo's just an incredibly hard character for me to write for: There's not a huge amount of series-canon material, and as much as I love his "I just want to belong" evil and his dark-and-twisty post-return-from-Hell angst I still can't quite find his voice.


	3. An incident.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even with Monroe's hunter insurgency gone werewolves may not be the most popular folks in town, or maybe it's just Theo they don't like?

Theo groaned and waved at the Beacon Hills deputy tapping on his window. "Yeah. Alright. I'm going! Jeez..."  
He shoved his blanket into the passenger seat and sat up, wincing and guarding his ribs. Turns out what the pack needed him for last night was to play bait for some rogue hunter, and the guy was pretty quick with his cattle prod and boots. Theo was pretty sure he'd broken a few ribs, but they were healing. _7:30... at least I got 4 hours of sleep_ he sighed, driving back into the town proper.

**

Theo's truck skidded to a stop in front of Silver's Light: WOLF LOVER was painted across the entire front of the store in ugly, blood red paint, along with other epithets in sloppy black scrawl. He stepped out of his truck and stared, a cold knot in his stomach.

Theo jumped at the touch of a warm hand on his shoulder, spinning to see his boss. "Guess ya saw the new artwork huh? Not quite my artistic vision." Matt frowned, holding out the coffee tray to Theo.

"Guess not." _This is your fault. You bring trouble wherever you go._ Theo's shoulders slumped. "You want me to clean it up before I go?"

"Go?" Matt squinted at the chimera

Theo's eyes dropped to the sidewalk. "It's not your vision right? Getting your place trashed because you hired a wolf. You don't want me around, bringing trouble..."

"Theo, you think I'm blaming you for this?"  
A nod from the chimera deepened Matt's frown. "Theo. Did you take a bucket of red paint and a brush and smear it on my windows?" - a head-shake, no - "Did you tell someone else to do it? Put them up to it?"

Theo shook his head again. "No, but they did it 'cuz of me. Beacon Hills just doesn't want me around, they don't want you hiring me. It's my fault for even staying in town..."

"No." Matt interrupted, the biting tone making Theo look up at him. Shaking his head he continued "Just because someone doesn't like you and they choose to vandalize property because of it doesn't make _their_ actions _your_ fault."  
He cupped Theo's shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze "Look, I grew up in a time and a town where people did stuff like this" - Matt gestured at the window - "to me because I like sleeping with guys. That wasn't my fault, and this isn't yours. And if you think I'm going to fire you over some fucking bigots?" He shook his head "Not gonna happen kid."

Theo visibly relaxed, the cold knot in his stomach untwisting somewhat, and Matt pulled open the gallery door. "Go park your truck, I already grabbed breakfast with the sheriff while he wrote this up but yours is inside. I'll meet you in back."

**

Theo walked into the office area to find Matt sitting on the edge of the desk, holding out a wrapped sandwich. He took the warm bundle and unwrapped it, taking a bite. "Hmmmmh" he moaned softly, then catching himself he sheepishly said "Thanks", holding up the sandwich as a slight blush crept into his cheeks.

"Like I said, part of the package. Job comes with full use of all the chairs too." He nodded at one and Theo sat.  
Matt watched curiously as Theo nibbled at the sandwich, finally drawling out "Soooooo, I want to ask you something." The chimera looked up nervously as Matt continued "I've been here a couple of months. I saw some stuff... well heard about it mostly from that crowd that hung around with Monroe. Stuff like your eyes."  
Theo swallowed hard as Matt continued "You're a werewolf, right?" - Theo nodded - "So... you can like... turn into a wolf? Wolf-man?" - another nod, and Matt asked softly "Can you... would it be alright if you showed me?"

Theo's hands shook as he put the uneaten half of his breakfast down. His eyes darted nervously between Matt's face and the back door. "You don't have to" Matt said, "but I would like to see... if you're OK showing..."

Matt trailed off as Theo's fingernails elongated into claws. "Is this what you want to see?" he said, voice slurring around the fangs emerging in his mouth. "You want to see a monster?" His voice was low, but anger and fear echoed in Theo's words and his eyes flashed gold as he met his boss' gaze.  
Theo didn't know what he expected. Probably for Matt to recoil. Maybe for him to yell and call him all the things others had. _Monster. Animal. Murderer._ What he didn't expect was for Matt to move closer, studying his face. He didn't expect the same smile he'd gotten when Matt hired him, and he definitely didn't expect Matt to pick up one of his hands and trace his finger along the razor-sharp claws. There was no scent of fear, and barely a skip in Matt's heartbeat.

"Is that how you see yourself?" Matt said softly, his thumb grazing along Theo's thumb-claw. "I don't see a monster. Thank you for showing me.

Theo hesitated, then nervously "I... can I show you something else?" - Matt nodded and Theo stood, his body shifting, shrinking, and reshaping into a jet black wolf, a small trace of white under his muzzle and on his chest. He stepped out of his clothes and sat on his haunches, staring up at the man expectantly.

"Woah...." Matt whispered, kneeling so his face was level with the wolf's. He reached out tentatively and brushed his hand through Theo's neck-fur. "You're... wow." Matt stroked his palm back along Theo's wolf form - not quite petting him, but a reassuring pressure that Theo leaned into. "Can you... I mean I guess you can't talk like this?" - Theo shook his head - "Can you turn back?"

Wolf-Theo whined and looked pointedly at his clothes and Matt chuckled, turning around. A few seconds later Theo said "OK..." and Matt turned around as Theo pulled his T-shirt back over his body.

"Thank you, Theo. I'm guessing that's not... you don't do that in front of a lot of people?"

Theo shook his head. "No. I... we try not to shift in front of people. You saw how people react. The window..."

Matt nodded, watching Theo finish his breakfast. "Hey, would you be OK finishing up the lights up front on your own? I want to run home and grab something."

"Yeah... I can do that and then start getting rid of that paint." Theo swallowed hard, his voice heavy with sadness/

Matt shook his head "Leave that for now okay? We can talk about it when I get back, I'll bring lunch with me. Chinese sound OK?"  
Theo scarcely finished nodding before Matt was on his feet "I'll be back by 12:30 with something deliriously unhealthy!" he grinned, then giving Theo's shoulder a light pat he continued more seriously: "I'll lock up the front. If you need anything call my cell okay?" and with a nod from Theo he strode out through the gallery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapters are, tentatively: An Idea (or "A Project"), possibly a pack interlude (no Matt), then a series of pack-member vignettes (order TBD, starting with Theo).


	4. An idea.

Theo was on a ladder mounting a light when his phone started buzzing. He finished tightening the clamp and connecting the power cable before hopping down and pulling the phone from his pocket. _Angry Puppy._ Theo sighed and answered. "Liam, I'm at work. You know people have jobs, right?"

"Dude! Scott just heard from the sheriff about that place getting trashed. What's going on?" Liam blurted breathlessly.

"It's fine," Theo sighed, "someone tagged the front of the shop. My boss didn't even seem too pissed about it." _I hope._

"Oh... okay. Scott wants to have a pack meeting thing and see if we can figure out who did it. He wants you there, Deaton's in an hour."

Theo blinked. _What do they think, I'm just around whenever they want me?_ "Liam I'm at work, I can't just LEAVE." Theo growled impatiently.

"Theo he specifically said to call you." Liam said plaintively.

Theo snorted "Well if Scott's so worried and wants to talk to me about this so bad then why doesn't he come here?"

"'cuz you're not like working for Deaton or something Theo, we're supposed to hang around your job talking about werewolves in front of everyone?" Liam's voice had a sarcastic bite to it, like Theo shouldn't have even asked.

"Look," Theo snapped, "I have work to do. I REALLY don't want to lose this job, so I'm not bailing in the middle of the fucking morning on my second day. If you guys want to talk to me this is where I'll be, Matt said he'd be out until the afternoon. Otherwise it can wait." He hung up without waiting for a reply, tossing his phone on the desk and grabbed another lighting mount from the box - some more manual labor would help clear his head.

**

Theo had just finished the west section's lighting when he heard someone tapping on the glass door of the gallery. He climbed down and opened the door, letting Liam, Scott, Stiles, Mason, and Corey in.

"This is where you're working?" Liam asked, looking around the empty space. Cardboard boxes from the lighting fixtures were strewn around the floor, and a white plastic panels leaned against some of the walls.

"Yes Liam." Theo tried to keep the exasperation and bitterness out of his voice "It's apparently the only place in town hiring when your name is Theo Raeken."

Liam sniffed the air curiously "Smells funny in here." He wrinkled his nose. "What _is_ that?"

"You get used to it." Theo glanced at his watch and turned to Scott "You wanted to talk about the new paint job out front? My boss is gonna be back soon."

"Do you have any idea who might have done it Theo?" Scott asked.

Theo thought he sounded genuinely concerned, but he couldn't hold back his sarcasm. "Who would try to piss off my boss so he'd fire me and I'd have to leave town? Gee Scott, I don't know. Who in this town might hate werewolves, especially me?"

"Oh, only EVERYBODY!" Stiles quipped. Theo glared at him and clenched his jaw.

"Stiles, not helping." Scott kept his eyes on Theo.

"Dude, c'mon. He's not exactly mister popularity." Stiles' hands waved expressively. "I bet a lot of people want him gone!" 

"Yeah, but 'Wolf Lover'?" Mason piped up. "How many people in town would write something like that? And this place is new, the owner probably doesn't even know about Beacon Hills' whole supernatural deal."

"He knows." Theo said quietly.

"What?" Scott stepped nose-to-nose with Theo. "He knows? Theo, are you working for a hunter or something?!"

"No way, he wouldn't..." Liam started, but Theo cut him off.

"No Scott I'm not working for a hunter or something." Then less forcefully "At least I don't think he is. He's... I don't know, but he didn't freak out when he saw me transform."

Stiles squawked "He saw you... what were you... why would you do that? In front of someone we don't even know?!"

"He was here for the whole Monroe thing." Theo snapped. "It's not like he didn't already think this town was weird."

"Wait, he moved here when they all came to town?" Mason asked quietly.

"Yeah, he said he's been here a few months." Theo said.

"So...what if he IS one of her hunters?" Corey ventured timidly.

"He's not." Theo snapped.

"Theo how do you know that?" Scott asked. "This whole place could just be a front."

"Yeah." Liam nodded "I mean what does this place even sell? It's empty and it smells funny..."

"We'll be selling photographs," Matt's voice rang out from the back, "at least once we can show them properly." Theo glanced back down at his watch _12:35. Shit._  
Matt walked out of the back carrying two large bags of Chinese take-out and glanced at the 5 boys facing Theo, his noticing the Chimera's defensive stance. He set the bags down as he walked over, standing by Theo's side. "Friends of yours, Theo?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry." Theo said sheepishly, scanning Matt's face for any signs of anger, but he looked more curious than anything. "This is Scott, and Liam, Stiles, Corey, and Mason." He indicated each boy in turn. "They heard about the..." Theo nodded at the window. "They just wanted to make sure I was ok. Which I am." He stared pointedly at Scott.

Matt nodded. "Interesting _pack_ of friends," he emphasized the word pack just enough that Liam shifted warily and Stiles visibly tensed. "Oh my god." Matt rolled his eyes. "You," he pointed at Liam, "and you" - Stiles - "Never play poker. You'll go broke."

"HEY!" a hurt look crossed Stiles' face. "I'm good at poker!"

"No you aren't dude." Scott said reflexively.

Matt turned to Theo "They all werewolves too?"

Theo shook his head "Not all of them, but they're all part of the pack." His eyes darted to Scott.

Scott stepped forward "Which is why we're really interested in finding out who did that." he jerked his head back toward the front windows of the gallery. His eyes met Matt's with as much of his Alpha authority as he could put into his look without actually letting his eyes flash red.

Matt shrugged casually "Sheriff's looking into that. When he knows I'll know, and then I guess Theo can tell you." His eyes darted between the 5 pack members, settling on Scott's face "...and I guess you'll decide what to do about that." he finished, addressing Scott directly.

Scott nodded solemnly, catching the meaning in Matt's look. "We can help you clean up your windows too..." Scott started, but Matt waived him off.

"I was going to talk to Theo about that over lunch, but since you're all here why don't you join us? I made the mistake of ordering hungry so I think there's enough to feed all of us."

Liam's stomach growled and Scott nodded. "Sure." he said warily.

"Go on in back," Matt gestured at the doorway. "There's counter space and chairs, better than eating on the floor." Scott and the rest of the pack members filed through, Theo glancing at Matt as he brought up the rear. Matt caught the chimera's look and mouthed "It's OK" at him, walking through the doorway with his nervous employee.

**

The pack eagerly dug in to the take-out bounty spread out on one of the counters. Once everyone had a plate in front of them and had found a place to sit Matt took a seat on the edge of the desk next to Theo and pushed a book toward him.  
"This is what I wanted to get." He said, and Theo glanced at the cover - _Mapplethorpe_ \- "You know anything about him?"

Theo shook his head no but Stiles piped up "The kinky photos guy?"

Matt chuckled, nodding "Well I guess that's one way to describe him. He did other stuff too, but it's the _kinky photos_ bit that got me thinking." Matt opened the book and paged through to _Two Men Dancing_ "He photographed a lot of gay men in the 70s and 80s, back when homosexuality wasn't something people really talked about."  
Matt flipped a few more pages, stopping on _Larry and Bobby Kissing._ "He did most of them in formal portrait style, and a lot of the images wound up in galleries. People had to engage with the idea of homosexualty as part of engaging with the art itself."  
Mason and Corey shifted uncomfortably, glancing between the book and each other uncomfortably as Matt flipped pages again, stopping at _Man in a Polyester Suit_ and then _Brian Ridley and Lyle Heeter_. "These are all pretty tame, there's some real freakshow stuff in here." He closed the book and glanced between the pack members, various expressions of confusion and a deep crimson blush on Corey's face.  
"I think the real impactful shots were the more vanilla ones though." Matt turned to face Theo. "I was thinking about doing something like this, but with you..." He ventured tentatively, glancing at Scott "and maybe the rest of your pack?"

It was Scott's turn to blush, glancing at the closed book. "Uh... I don't think I'm really into..." he started, and Stiles cut him off with a squeak.

"So you wanna sell werewolf porn?!" Stiles blurted, making Liam choke on his soda.

"Nuh-uh, no way!" Liam spluttered, mopping up the soda from his shirt with the napkins Mason thrust at him.

"No! God." Matt made a face, waving his hand "Not with all the leather and the bondage and the dicks hanging out. Just... I guess a some formal werewolf portrait photography. Something that people in town might come to see, and hey look some of the models happen to be a little werewolf-y."  
Stiles and Liam both glanced at Scott, still visibly nervous as Matt continued "Probably not all studio stuff either, home, work, play, that kind of thing. Sort of a 'werewolves are people too' motif I guess?" He shrugged - "I don't really know exactly how it would work, I just came up with this three hours ago so I'm kinda winging it."  
Matt turned to Theo and asked "What do you think?"

Theo bit his lip and glanced at the other pack members, Stiles seemed openly hostile to the idea, Scott and Liam unsure, and Corey - well the shy chameleon's face was pink and his eyes darted between Mason, the closed book, and being intensely interested in the Chow Fun left on his plate. Matt watched Theo's hesitation for a few seconds before prompting "Is this something _you'd_ be interested in doing?"

Stiles started to speak but Theo quickly blurted a loud "Yes" and the pack's eyes turned to him.  
"I... yeah. I think I'd like to." he said more quietly.

"Well... you can't!" Stiles burted. "Scott, this is a bad idea! Tell him no Scott! No werewolf of the month calendar or whatever!"

Mason cleared his throat "Uh, Stiles has a point." He turned to Matt "Don't shows like this usually sell prints and books and stuff?"

Liam nodded "Yeah, my parents have a bunch of stuff at home from gallery shows. What if some hunters buy up the photos as wanted posters for the Beacon Hills pack or something?" Scott shifted uncomfortably at the idea.

"Yeah, I guess that could be a problem..." Matt said thoughtfully. He looked to Scott, then back at Liam, and nodded again. "So no sales. No 'werewolf-of-the-month' calendar or collection book. Just a shoot, some prints, and an exhibition, maybe a week or two right here in Beacon Hills. Then everyone who participates gets their images back."

"Yeah, and we're just supposed to trust you won't keep copies on your laptop or something and sell us out?" Stiles interrogated.

Matt shook his head. "Couldn't if I wanted to. It's right in the name man, 'Silver's Light' - Everything I do is analog, film and paper. So when we're done everyone gets back their negatives and prints. Burn 'em if you want."

"So you just make extra copies!" Stiles was clearly not assuaged.

Matt shrugged "I could, but I won't." Matt clapped a hand on Theo's shoulder "And the pack has an inside man right here to make sure I don't."

Stiles frowned "So we're supposed to trust _Theo_? He...OW!" Stiles glared at Scott rubbing the ribs his friend elbowed. "Fragile human here!"

"I want to do it." Theo said more firmly. "I'm the one the whole town still hates..."

"Damn right you are." Stiles muttered, both Scott and Liam shooting him angry looks.

"...and maybe if..." Theo trailed off at Stiles' comment. His eyes dropped to the floor. "Look I just... I want to do this." Theo finished lamely, shoulders slumping.

Matt raised an eyebrow at Stiles, reaching down to rest a hand on Theo's shoulder. "How about this," he turned to Scott "Theo and I will shoot some photos of him to start. If he likes the way those turn out we'll show them to the rest of the pack and you can all decide what you want to do."  
Matt gave Theo's shoulder a squeeze and continued "Today's Thursday, so we can get the gallery area rigged for shooting tomorrow, get a few shots done, and have something put together by... next Saturday probably?"

Scott looked from Stiles to Theo, the chimera's eyes meething his, almost pleading with him to agree while his best friend's expression said the exact opposite. He regarded Matt for a few seconds before finally sighing "Alright." Then to Theo "Just you though. No pack stuff. For now."

"Excellent!" Matt grinned, "Then Theo and I should get back to work in here." He walked the pack out to the front of the gallery.

"We can clean up your windows this weekend too." Liam piped up as the pack walked out the door. "You know, so you don't have to."

"Nah," Matt said, eyeing the silhouette of the letters on the brown paper behind the windows. "Leave it for now." Liam cocked his head and Matt continued "I think I like _Wolf Lover_ as an exhibit title, so if we wind up do this as a pack thing I'll just frost the back of the windows and leave that while the show is running. It'll look cool, and also keep people from seeing photos through the window out of context. And if you all decide you'd rather not then I can order in solvents and take the paint off." Matt shrugged "Won't be any harder to strip off glass in a week than in a day."  
He held out his hand to Scott "I'll see you next Saturday?"

Scott took the man's hand, a bit surprised at the strength of Matt's cgrip, and nodded. "Saturday." - then with a glance back at Theo Scott and the pack left the two men standing in the empty gallery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, there's more than just Theo! There will be more than just the guys too - the rest of the pack is going to filter in and out for a few chapters.
> 
> I promise Stiles isn't being set up as a bad guy, he's just being the overprotective friend we all know he is, and he's still not quite ready to trust Theo (you can't blame the guy: Dude killed his friend).


	5. Theo.

*Tap Tap Tap* - _Ugh... again?_ Theo sat up groggily, the sun just over the horizon, and waved off the Beacon Hills deputy standing outside his window. He recognized her, she'd chased him away from a few spots since he came back to town. "Alright. Sorry. I'll move." He started the truck and she nodded, heading back to her cruiser. Driving back toward town Theo pulled into the Beacon Hills High School parking lot and rummaged through the clothes in the back of his truck. He grabbed a clean shirt, socks, and boxerbriefs, and eyed the stack of dirty clothes on his back seat ruefully. _Gonna have to do laundry soon_ he thought, _and get gas_ he frowned at the needle dipping below the 1/4 tank mark, then tucked the clothes and a small shower kit bag under his arm and headed for the school's gym.  
He'd gotten good at this - sneaking in to shower and shave when nobody was in the building. Climbing up onto the roof he quickly prowled over to the boy's locker room window that had become his familiar means of entry and egress. It tilted in easily with a push and he crawled over the top of the row of lockers, dropping down to the floor below. _Security at this school is a joke._

Rinsing the last of the shampoo and soap from his body Theo padded over to the row of sinks, yawning deeply. He ran a hand back through his hair and sighed. _Damn. I look as tired as I feel. Maybe I should just go sleep in the Dread Doctors' lab._ He shook his head, dismissing the thought as quickly as he'd had it. He tried that once, but he couldn't shut his eyes there. Too many memories. With a sigh he raised his right arm and looked at his ribs - still sore, but the bruises and cattle prod burn from the hunter had finally healed - _I guess I look OK_. He tugged the maroon henley over his head, pulling on the rest of his clean clothes. He regarded himself in the mirror again, rubbing some paste through his hair and settling into his facade as the cool, confident Theo Raeken he wanted everyone to see. With a final nod at his reflection he left through the familiar window and headed to the gallery. _It's only 8, but I'm not going to get any more sleep anyway._

**

Theo sat back in his truck staring out the windshield at the sky. _Can I do this? What did I even volunteer for?_ A rapid drumming on the side of his truck made him spin to face the window, expecting a deputy or some other harasser, but instead he found himself facing a camera lens - Click - and Matt standing right outside the window lowering the camrea. Theo took a deep breath and opened the door, climbing out of the truck.

"Sorry," Matt chuckled. "I'd say I didn't mean to scare you but that'd be a lie, I can't resist a good surprise shot." he grinned. "You're here early though, thought we said 10?"

"Couldn't sleep." Theo said quietly. It was the truth, if not the whole truth. "Figured I might as well meet you here and we can get started right away?" he asked curiously.

Matt nodded, ushering Theo into the the back of Silver's Light. "Sure, we can do the studio shots now and then grab lunch." He opened the electrical panel by the door and slammed the breakers on, the lights and familiar fan sound coming to life. "C'mon, help me grab some extra film from the back."

Theo glanced around the office area, the open floor space now having a curved backdrop stand with a plain white backing curtain laid out around a simple chair and light stands positioned around the backdrop. Matt walked to the far end of the office and around a corner and Theo followed, the fan sound he'd grown used to getting louder as he turned another corner into a white-walled room with a large steel sink taking up one side. The funny smell that always hung around the gallery was stronger too - _Wet straw... vanilla...some kind of chemicals..._ Theo recognized it as a darkroom from ones he'd seen on TV, but his eyes kept darting to the sink. _Looks like the the morgue... Tara..._ the Click of a camera shutter brought him back to reality, blinking at Matt in confusion.

"You make the best confused faces." Matt smiled. "Oh, right you haven't been back here yet, we never really did a tour. I am like the worst boss, huh?" Matt shook his head and spread his arms, smiling at Theo "Welcome to the cave!"  
Matt walked around the room, talking casually and rapping his knuckles against the side of the sink with a hollow oil drum noise. "Processing sink, trays and chemistry are up here." he motioned to a shelf above the sink with an assortment of beakers, trays, bottles, and white cardboard boxes with spigots sticking out. "Film," Matt's shoe tapped the mini-fridge, "and paper's in these boxes, small to large." he gestured at the shelves above the mini-fridge from bottom to top. "Enlarger's over there," Matt pointed at a large gray double-railed machine in an alcove on the far wall, "and for the really big stuff it flips up and points over here." he patted the center of a black square painted on the wall. "It's not huge, but it's enough for what I need."

"I thought darkrooms were... dark." Theo asked, looked around the bright room.

"Only when they need to be." Matt shrugged, "Some people paint everything black, but it's easier to work in here when you can see what you're doing. Watch." Matt reached behind Theo and hit a light switch, plunging the room into darkness. Theo instinctively turned to take a step but ran into Matt's palm against his chest.  
"Don't." Matt said sharply. "You're not used to the room. You'll run into something and hurt yourself. Two...Three..." A sharp click and the room was lit again by a dull red-orange glow. Theo glanced down to see his crotch two inches away from the edge of the sink. "See?" Matt said, smiling as Theo took a step back from the sharp corner.  
"You'll get used to working in here pretty quickly." Matt said, snapping the white lights on again. Theo blinked and squinted against the brightness as his eyes adjusted, catching the small box Matt tossed to him from the mini-fridge. "That should be plenty of film, let's get to it." Matt grinned, ushering Theo back out to the office/studio area.

**

The studio shots went quickly. Theo had been expecting a lot of careful posing, and he was surprised when Matt only asked him for a few specific shots - some classic magazine poses, and then a few repeats of those partially shifted - just claws or just fangs. After those Matt started talking, random topics like cars, lacrosse, Theo's workout routine. The shutter clicks faded into the background, almost out of Theo's mind, and he found himself laughing at jokes about "Wolf-erine", even making the Wolverine X with his claws and fangs out. He barely registered the shutter clicking mid-roar.  
When Matt asked if he'd like to be photographed as a wolf Theo nodded, peeling off his shirt and shifting into his sleek jet-black form. He watched Matt fold his clothes and set them on the counter before turning back to him.

"Okay, now I guess we're pretty much down to yes or no questions until you can change back, so just know that i'm sorry if this feels like the Westminster Dog Show or something..." Matt grinned, before taking Theo through a series of formal shots and poses. The most uncomfortable moments were when he made Theo sit on the chair in poses mirroring some of the seated poses he'd done at the beginning of the session. Wolves are not made for chairs, and Theo nearly fell off the chair trying to do _Paws crossed on the chair back with your face on them_. Matt leapt in to steady the chair at the last moment.

"You alright?" He asked, staring into wolf-Theo's eyes. Theo nodded, a little shaken at the near fall, and hopped down from the chair to stretch. Matt rewarding with another shutter click mid-stretch. _What's so interesting about a stretch?_ Theo cocked his head and laid down, looking up at Matt. Another shutter click, then Matt laid down in front of Theo, camera between his paws. He adjusted his position slightly and - Click - slid the camera aside.  
"OK, I think we're done in here." Pushing open the door to the restroom Matt set Theo's folded clothes on the sink. "Go on and get dressed?"

Theo chuffed curiously and nosed the door shut. Stretching, he elongated back into his human form. Goosebumps prickled on his arm from the slight chill and he quickly pulled on his clothes, padding out on his bare feet. Matt was leaning over the counterscribbling on the rolls of film with a black marker and Theo sat on the desk next to him, pulling his socks and shoes on. "So what do we do now?" He asked.

"Welllll," Matt drawled "First we go eat, because I don't know about you but I'm fucking starving." Matt grinned, "Then I don't know. You said sometimes you like to run in the preserve for a workout, and I'm a runner myself. Would you be OK with me photographing that?"

"Think you can keep up with me?" Theo teased, a playful smile crossing his face.

"I'm not gonna put any money down on THAT bet, I don't think I can outrun a wolf." Matt smirked. "Might not be much of a real workout for you, but you could show off a little for the camera."

Theo nodded "Sure, I think I'd like that."

"Great!" Matt grabbed a fistful unexposed film from the box and tossed them into his backpack. "There's a diner on the way out to the preserve, so we can grab lunch there."

**

Theo and Matt wandered into the Beacon Hills diner just before noon, and while it wasn't crowded it was certainly busy. A table of deputies having their mid-shift meal glanced at the pair as they entered, and Theo was sure he recognized a few of them from his late-night wake-up calls. He could feel the deputies' eyes on him along with some of the other customers, but the waitress smiled at both him and Matt, motioning for them to take a booth. "I'll be right with you boys as soon as I get these orders in," she said pleasantly. "Guessing you want coffee Matty?"

"Yup!" Matt replied with a familiar smile. "For Theo too please." he continued, sliding into the booth with his back to the door and resting his camera on the table. Theo slid in across from him, watching the table of deputies and nervously tugging at his fingers, wishing the deputies would stop staring.  
Matt's eyes flicked from from Theo's hands to his eyes. "This okay Theo?"

Theo nodded, swallowing hard. "'s fine." he said quietly, glancing at the table of deputies again.

Matt followed Theo's eyeline to the table of deputies and patted Theo's hands to calm his fidgeting. He leaned toward Theo with a mischevious smirk and whispered "Think they're talking about you? Betchya I can make 'em knock it off if I start talking about the ginormous shipment of cocaine I'm expecting tomorrow morning!"  
Theo shook his head, blushing furiously, and Matt chuckled. "Relax, I'm just kidding. Are they still staring?"

Theo's eyes darted over to the deputies and then back to Matt's - he nodded sheepishly.  
Matt turned to look over at the deputies, openly staring with an exaggerated bug-eyed expression, holding his gaze on them until one by one they all turned their attention back to their meals. He winked at Theo who nodded his thanks as their coffee arrived.

"You causing trouble hon?" The waitress growled fiercely as she slid two coffees onto the table. Theo tensed before he saw her amused grin.

"Who? Me? Never!" Matt folded his hands and beamed the fakest angelic smile Theo had ever seen, complete with batting eyelashes. The chimera chuckled quietly behind his coffee mug, the unexpected Click of a camera shutter only slightly startling him.

"Mmhmm." The waitres - Marie according to her nametag - rolled her eyes. "So I know what he's getting" she said, nodding at Matt. Turning to Theo "You need a minute with the menu?"

"You trust me Theo?" Matt asked, putting his hand on the menu.

Theo blinked "Uh, I guess?"

Matt smirked and turned to the waitress. "Times two please."

Marie nodded and scribbled on her order pad. "Comin' right up." she called, walking back toward the kitchen.

"Why are you taking my picture _here_?" Theo asked softly.

Matt leaned back in the booth casually, studying Theo for a moment before he spoke. "I'm going to take your picture pretty much everywhere we go, at least for a little while. I'm gonna be pretty random and we'll probably throw away most of what we shoot. It's just how I work."

"Here ya go boys!" Marie started sliding plates out on the table - two large burgers drowning in bacon and cheese, and two plates of fries covered with melted mozzarella and gravy. "Dig in!" she grinned, then to Matt "I'll get more coffee for you."

**

Lunch passed with only a few more shutter clicks and the pair walked back toward Theo's truck. Theo had his keys out and absently ran a hand over his truck's fender, expecting Matt to walk around to the passenger seat, but instead he heard the Click of a camera shutter firing behind him. "How long have you had that truck?" Matt asked casually.

"Little over a year I guess?" Theo turned toward Matt as he answered, another click when his face had come around, body still turning.

"First car?"

Theo nodded as Matt walked around to the passenger door. "Yeah, it is. Got it when I started school here." Another click through the window and Matt opened the door, climbing in. Theo did the same and the shutter clicked again as he buckled his seatbelt. "OK, that's weird." Theo turned, self-consciously ducking his head away from the camera as he fastened his seatbelt. "Sorry." He mumbled, gripping the top of the steering wheel with both hands "Just… That's still weird, having my picture taken."

"I know, it'll get less weird I promise. " Matt said, patting the chimera's hand reassuringly. Theo looked up from the seatbelt latch, his hazel-blue eyes darting nervously between Matt's face and the camera resting on the dashboard.  
"Relax Theo." Matt said gently. "I know this part's harder. In the studio you were performing for the camera, so it's easier: You show what you want the camera to see. Out here I'm not looking for a performance, but you still know there's a camera, so part of today is taking a lot of pics and desensitizing you to the camera so you aren't on your guard every time you hear the shutter." - Click.

Theo chewed at his lower lip a little. He could feel his pulse quickening as his eyes darted between from Matt's face and the camera. The chimera flexes his hand on the steering wheel. _Don't screw this up._

Matt gave Theo's hand a gentle squeeze. "Try not to let it get in your head Theo." Matt said softly. "Just try to be yourself and remember nobody has to see these pictures except you." Matt's hand curled over Theo's on the wheel - another Click from the camera- "If you need a minute or just want to stop for the the day just say so and I'll put the camera down, okay?" Matt's hand slid off of Theo's and he said softly "If you want to call the whole thing off that's alright too."

Theo took a deep breath, listening to Matt's steady heartbeat. He nodded. "OK. I mean no, I don't want to call it off. I... let's keep going."

Matt nodded. "I get how weird it can be. I HATE being in front of a camera too." He chuckled. "Part of why I went into photography actually: Nobody takes a picture of someone holding a camera."

Theo smiled back. "So you're using a camera to hide from the camera? Maybe I should try that." Theo mused, starting the truck's engine.

"Maybe." Matt shrugged, leaning back in the seat and fastening his own seatbelt. "It won't work on me though. **I** am a persistent motherfucker!" - Click - "Now, show me this preserve I keep hearing about."

**

Theo ran through the edges of the Beacon Hills preserve, playfully scaling trees and hanging from their branches. After the first roll of film he started to feel more at ease, barely noticing the shutter clicks anymore. He was holding back from his full speed, but he was still surprised that Matt kept pace with him, sometimes even running ahead to catch a different angle or laying in the dirt and leaves as Theo ran past.

After a good run Theo looped back to his truck, hopping up into the bed and shifting into his wolf form. He stretched and leapt down, cocking his head at Matt. _Ready?_

Matt took Theo's clothes from the bed of the truck and tucked them into the backpack with his spare film. Theo gave a confused growly-whine and the man eyed him. "In case you want to change back while we're out there?" and Theo nodded, panting. "OK, then let's go wolf-man!" Matt grinned, following wolf-Theo back into the woods.

Running in his wolf form always relaxed Theo - he prowled, sprinted, and stalked his way around the preserve without any of the masks and pretense he put on around people. He even forgot about Matt for a while, until he raced up to the top of a ridge and came snout-to-lens with a camera. The shutter clicked on wolf-Theo's confused expression, which quickly faded to panic as he slid, slipped, and tumbled over the edge with a panicked yip.

"Oh shit, Theo!" Matt tucked his camera under his arm and jogged down the trail, watching Theo's wolf splash his way out of the river at the bottom of the ridge.

Theo climbed out onto the bank, shaking off and walking up the river slowly with Matt trailing behind. The wolf came to a small footbridge and laid down, muzzle on his paws, staring into the water.

Click - Theo felt Matt slide closer to him, laying on the bridge next to the soaked wolf. "You ok? Need to dry off?"

Theo stared at the water, Matt's voice almost drowned out by the pounding of his pulse in his ears. _This is where it happened. You killed your own sister. Monster._

"Theo?" Matt ran his fingers through the wet fur on the back of Theo's neck and the wolf turned to him, hazel-blue puppy eyes looking up sadly. Click.

Theo hadn't even seen the camera in Matt's right hand. He whimpered and looked away, staring back into the water. _You did this. This is why nobody wants you._

Matt's fingers plied through Theo's wet fur again. "Theo... Are you alright?" he asked softly.

Theo whined softly, inching toward the edge of the bridge and hanging his nose over. The cold water in his fur starting to chill his skin. _You shouldn't have come back. You should be gone, not her._

" _Theo._ " Matt's said insistently, shaking the wolf out of his melancholy trance. The hand on his fur stroked along his back slowly, warm through the cold wetness as his eyes met Matt's. He watched Matt set the camera on the bridge and pulled his pack around, taking Theo's neatly folded clothes out he set them down next to the camera. "Change back?"

Theo looked at the clothes, then at the river again. _I don't want to._ He nosed the pile toward the edge of the bridge, but Matt put his hand on the pile before it fall.

"You don't want to change back?" - Theo shook his head.

"Is it because I'm here?" Matt asked, hand still holding Theo's clothes in place.

Theo huffed at the pile. _Yes? No? I don't know._ He felt Matt's hand stroking along his wet fur and pressed his head against the warmth, looking up at his boss' concerned face.

"This place makes you sad?" Matt asked, his palm rubbing over Theo's head and smoothing the water off as he spoke. "Bad memories?"

 _Don't pity me!_ Theo shifted away from Matt, burying his muzzle between his paws. _You'll hate me too when you know._

"You don't want to talk about it?" Matt asked softly.

Theo huffed under his paws as he started to shiver from the cold. Matt's hand squeezed the scruff of his neck as he spoke "You don't have to. But can you change back? I don't know if you can get sick from being a wet wolf, but at least your clothes are dry..."

Theo stood, stretching and shifting back into his human form. Matt stood as well, facing the river and leaning on the railing of the bridge until he heard Theo zip up his jeans. Matt turned to face him and raised the camera, shutter clicking on Theo's profile as the young chimera gazed forlornly at the water.

Theo flinched at the shutter click, the first time he'd really been aware of it in hours. "Can we stop please?" he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut against the stinging tears.

Matt glanced at the film counter on the camera - 4 shots left - before tucking it into his backpack and stepping closer to Theo. "Okay, that's all for today man." he said softly.

Theo shuddered. _Your fault._ \- _Murderer._ \- _Abomination_ \- _Failure._ he pressed his lips tightly together and gripped the railing, feeling his claws slip out and slice into the wood. "I'm sorry." he choked out, feeling the wetness at the corners of his eyes.

Matt rested his hand on Theo's, squeezing gently. "Sorry for calling a stop? I told you, it's fine..."

Theo shook his head fiercely as the tears came, rolling silently down his cheeks and dripping onto the wood of the bridge. _Stop crying you failure. Fake wolf. Don't even have a pack._ He felt Matt's hand brush over his - past his claws, warm palm resting on the back of his hand as he gripped tighter on the wooden railing.  
"Stupid fake wolf." he whispered tightly, giving voice to the 

"Okay? You seem pretty real and wolfy to me." Matt said softly.

"I'm a chimera." Theo whispered bitterly. "Made in a lab. And to do it..." He shuddered, "I was alone. Weak. I wanted to be stronger, and they said I could be, but I..." Theo swallowed hard and grabbed at his chest, claws piercing through his shirt and drawing blood.  
"They cut me. Drugs... surgery... but I first I had to..." His hand tightened on his chest, blood seeping through his shirt. "They..." Theo swallowed "They promised me a pack. Sent me after Tara... Scott... Josh... Tracy..." The claws dug deeper into his skin, blood soaking into his shirt around his sharp claws as tears rained down onto the railing.

Matt frowned, "Who's 'they' and... Hey! Theo stop! You're bleeding." Working his fingertips between Theo's palm and chest Matt gently pried the chimera's fingers loose.

"Deserve it." Theo rasped.

Matt pulled Theo's clawed hand away from his shirt, gripping it in tightly. "Why?"

Theo shook his head, opening his eyes to meet the cool gray stare piercing him. _Don't make me say it._

Matt stared back at Theo for a moment, and with his fingers wrapped around the chimera's bloody palm he circled his thumb along the back of Theo's hand. "You don't want to talk about it?" - Theo nodded - "Alright, but if you want to talk just know I'll listen, alright?"

Theo nodded. "I... Thanks."

"C'mon." Matt said, squeezing Theo's hand. Let's head back."

**

Matt and Theo made it back to Silver's Light just after sunset, pulling up to the back of the gallery. "I'm going to run a few of these rolls tonight just to see what we've got." Matt said, shaking his backpack.

"Do you... can I help?" Theo asked tentatively.

Matt regarded Theo for a moment and patted his arm "I think today was a little rough on you man, why don't you head on home? I think a good night's sleep will help clear your head."

 _I am home._ Theo glanced around the cab of the truck. "Should I come in tomorrow? There's still stuff to do right? For the front and stuff?" _I don't want to be alone. Lone wolves don't make it._

Chuckling Matt shook his head "Tomorrow's Saturday Theo. You get a weekend you know, I don't expect you to be here seven days a week." Theo tried to mask his disappointment, and Matt continued gently "I'll be here though, I probably won't get through all this film tonight. If you're bored or you want to see some of the shots while I process the rest I'll probably show up around noon."

"Okay." Theo said as Matt hopped out of the truck. "Maybe I'll come by."

"Great. If you're up for it maybe we can do some shots at your place tomorrow too." Matt gave the truck door two solid slaps with his palm as he closed it. "Now go get some rest, you look like you need it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooooo boy this is a long one. Proofing this took longer than writing it and I'm still not happy with the whole diner scene. On the bright side though it sets up a much shorter chapter with another of my favorite characters...


	6. Corey.

_What am I even doing here?_ Corey wondered. He had been lurking around the gallery's neighborhood for most of the afternoon, but he hadn't quite worked up the courage to try the doors. He had camouflaged himself when Matt and Theo returned and watched Matt go into the gallery after Theo drove off, now he had his hand on the handle to the back door. He pulled it open slowly and peeked through. Seeing the office area empty he crept through the door and shut it behind him. The faint sound of music echoed through the gallery and he waited a few seconds before slowly following the sound around the corner into the darkroom, finding Matt standing in front of against the metal sink and singing along with the music coming from his phone.

Matt picked up the processing tank from the sink, flipping it as he sang - "It's just a noisy hall, where there's a nightly brawl and all" - he banged the tank on the edge of the sink - "that" - bang -"Jazz." he set the tank back and leaned against the sink, waiting.

Corey made his way out of the darkroom quietly and looked around. The Mapplethorpe book was laying on the desk and he opened it, paging through curiously. The music and Matt's voice grew louder and Corey shut the book, quickly stepping away from the desk and standing flat against the wall as Matt walked out of the darkroom, still singing as he looked around the office casually. "I bet ya lucky Lindy never flew so high," - He pulled his keys from his pocket, casually twirling them as he walked up to the back door "'Cause in the stratosphere, how could he lend an ear to all" - Matt slid his key into the lock - "That." The deadbolt clicked into place - "Jaaaaazz." - Matt pulled his keys from the lock and pocketed them, returning to the darkroom.

Corey's heartbeat pounded in his ears as he watched Matt lock the door. _Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Why did I even come here?_ He watched the stranger disappear back around a corner, a new song echoing faintly, and began to pace. _What do I do? Do I call Mason? Do I wait for him to leave?_ The chameleon's heart raced as the realization that he was trapped set in.

***

Corey had been pacing the office and gallery looking for a way out for almost a half hour. He'd gone back into the darkroom and watched Matt change chemicals in the tank, gone to the front door to find it too was deadbolted shut, peeked back into the darkroom where Matt was running water from the faucet into the tank, and finally given up. He had just texted Mason for help and faded back into invisibility, taking up a spot next to the back door waiting for Mason to create a distraction, when Matt emerged around the corner again twirling his phone in his hand and still singing along with the music.

Matt walked up to the back door and Corey readied himself to sprint out the door as soon in case Matt opened it to leave. He watched Matt singing softly - "Mister Cellophane, 'cuz you can look right through me, walk right by me..." - Matt's hand reached out and rested on Corey's shoulder - "and never know I'm there." He thumbed the music off and slid the phone into his pocket.  
"So." the tall man said softly "I don't know who you are, but now that we both know you're here can you please show yourself?"

Corey rippled and faded back into view, color draining from his face. _I'm fucked._

Matt smiled "Neat trick. It's Corey, right?" letting go of Corey's shoulder he picked up the Mapplethorpe book from the desk and flipped it in his hand, spine facing the boy. "You can borrow it if you want, just ask next time alright?"

Corey's wide eyes darted from the book to the door to Matt's face. - _Trapped._ \- His breathing quickened to match his heartbeat as he started to shake.

"Hey, its alright. I'm not going to hurt you." Matt set the book down and pulled out his keys, unlocking the door.

Corey stuttered "H-how did you know I was here?"

"Air pressure." Matt clicked off two circuit breakers and the sound of the fans faded away. "When you opened the door the fans changed pitch. And you didn't do a good job putting this back where you found it." Matt handed the book to Corey, who took it sheepishly, staring at it in his hands while Matt picked up his camera and slung it over his shoulder. Pushing the door open Matt said "Also you're... prismatic I guess?."

"Prismatic?" Corey asked as Matt clicked off the lights and walked him out, locking the door behind them.

"Mmhm. When you're standing in front of lights you have a sort of chromatic aberration around your edges. Hard to notice, but it's there." Matt smiled. "Will you be able to get home alright?"

Corey nodded as Mason's car pulled into the far end of the parking lot, pulling into a spot far from the gallery door. "Yeah, I... uh, I can get a ride." he said quietly, tucking the photo book under his arm.

Matt glanced at the car and nodded "Alright. Goodnight Corey."  
As the chameleon started toward Mason's car Matt called after him "I have a few other books you may like, I'll bring 'em in and we can talk when you bring that one back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter: This popped into my head when I was writing Corey for **An Idea** and has been declared filler.
> 
> (Current backlog: 3.5 chapters)


	7. A Place.

Matt ambled down the road toward the Beacon Hills neighborhood he was living in, enjoying the mild California winter. He turned onto a short stretch of road along the edge of the preserve and noticed a familiar truck pulled off to the side of the road. Approaching the passenger side door he peered in to find Theo curled up in the front seat under a plaid blanket. He frowned, raising the camera - Click - then walked around the front of the truck to approach from the driver's side.

*

*Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap* _Noooo come on, I JUST fell asleep!_  
*Tap Tap Tap* - harder, more insistent - Theo groaned and raised his arm. "Okay. Okay!" he growled sleepily.

"Theo?" Matt's voice was muffled through the window.

 _Shit._ Theo turned to the window, finding his boss there rather than the expected deputy. He sighed and pushed his blanket into the passenger seat, sitting up and rolling down his window.

"What are you doing out here?" Matt asked softly, leaning on the door sill.

Theo said nothing. _Just go, please._

"Theo?" Matt said softly, reaching through the window to touch the boy's shoulder. "What's going on?"

Theo shrunk away from the touch. "Nothing." He said quietly, "Just... I was tired."

Matt nodded, moving his hand back to the door sill. His eyes darted around the interior of the truck - where the blanket had been behind the seats two neat piles of clothes were now visible in the dim light. "Can I join you?" he asked, sliding his hand down the inside of the door and tugging the handle to open the door.

Theo swallowed hard at the sound of the door opening and shook his head no, not trusting his voice. He tensed as he felt the truck shift under Matt's weight.

Matt gave Theo's shoulder a light shove as he stepped onto the running board. "Slide over."

"Wha?" Theo resisted, wide eyes turning to face his boss. _What's he doing? No. Just go!_ Theo pushed back against the hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

"C'mon. Slide over, let me sit?" Matt pushed again, climbing up into the cab and crowding Theo toward the passenger seat. The chimera reluctantly moved over into the passenger seat, letting Matt take his place behind the wheel. The familiar scent of the gallery hung around his boss - _Straw, vanilla, chemicals_ \- and Theo sniffed curiously.

Matt turned in the seat, regarding Theo carefully before asking "Why are you sleeping on the side of the road, Theo?"

The chimera's eyes dropped to his lap - he'd grabbed the blanket when he slid over and his hands were fisted in the rough wool material now. "Nowhere else to go." Theo whispered sullenly, twisting the blanket in his hands.

"Theo, are you sleeping... are you _living_ in your truck?" Matt asked softly.

Theo nodded, eyes still on his hands twisting the blanket nervously, and Matt frowned.

"Your parents..." Matt started, but Theo shook his head bitterly and he immediately changed tack. "Okayyyy, what about your friends? The pack? Why not stay with..."

Theo shook his head again, cutting Matt off "They don't want me around." His voice sounded small, even to his own ears.

Matt's frown depened "I don't know, that Scott guy seemed to care about you. He's just letting you sleep in your car every night?"

"He doesn't know."

Matt blinked in shock. "You didn't tell him?"

Theo shook his head. "He didn't ask. None of them did. They all know I don't have..." Theo swallowed hard "There's nobody. Not anymore."

"Hmm..." Matt growled softly. He leaned back in the driver's seat, staring out through the windshield in thought for a moment before exhaling loudly. "How long have you been living in your truck?" he asked.

Theo swallowed hard. "Since I got back." he said quietly, "A few months I guess."

Matt turned in the seat, facing Theo. "Whose address did you use on your paperwork?"

"Liam's." Theo mumbled.

"Why his?"Matt watched Theo's reaction.

"He... I can trust him. He would cover for me, wouldn't ask any questions." Theo said lamely, not meeting Matt's eyes.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" Matt asked

 _Nobody's going to hire a homeless werewolf!_ Theo thought. He shook his head silently.

"Theo..." Matt probed softly.

 _He's gonna fire you now for sure._ Theo thought. He squeezed his eyes shut waiting for Matt to step out of the truck. Instead he heard the door close and a hand squeeze his knee. He looked down to see the hand turn over, palm up.

"Keys?" Matt asked.

Theo mechanically pulled them out of his pocket, registering what was happening only once Matt took them from his hand. "What are you doing?"

Matt started the engine and shifted the truck into drive. "I'm not letting you sleep in your car. This isn't a New York winter but it's still cold out." Matt said, then as if it were the most obvious thing in the world "Put your seatbelt on."

"I'm fine." Theo said automatically.

"Seatbelt." Matt said mechanically, pulling onto the road as Theo obeyed.

**

They'd driven for barely two minutes when Matt pulled into the driveway of a small ranch-style house. He killed the engine and opened the driver's side door. Stepping down down from the truck with the keys in his hand he turned to Theo, still sitting and staring at his hands. "Theo? C'mon."

The chimera sat motionless, staring at the blanket he still held tightly. _You don't belong here Theo._ Finally he shook his head, clenching his jaw against the emotions roiling in his chest.

"Theo," Matt said softly through the open door, "do you really think I'm going to let you sleep in my driveway?"  
Theo jumped in his seat as the driver's side door closed, loud thud echoing in the cab. _No. You're going to send me away._ He heard the passenger side door open and felt Matt's hand on his. "C'mon," Matt said softly, Tugging the hesitant boy's hand and helping him out of the truck.

Theo let himself be guided out of the truck and through the front door of the house, a shiver running through him as the door closed behind them and Matt tossed the truck keys along with his house keys on a small table with a clatter. He glanced around nervously - the house was sparsely furnished with a pair of simple leather sofas and a coffee table with papers and books on it. An array of photographs hung on the far wall, and he could see a neat kitchen and dining room off the living room as well as a short hallway that he guessed lead to the bedroom. He watched after Matt as his boss walked toward the living room.

"You're allowed to come in Theo." Matt said, taking a seat on one of the couches.  
The chimera shook his head and reached for the truck keys on the table. "I can't make you stay," Matt said, Theo's hand freezing on the key fob, "but can we talk before you go?"

Theo picked up the keys, slipping them into his pocket, and walked over to sit on the other couch, facing Matt nervously.

"Why didn't you tell me you've been living in your truck?" Matt asked softly. 

"Didn't think you'd hire me." Theo whispered, staring at his hands in his lap. _Failure._

Matt's voice broke through Theo's brooding, asking "Do you want to stay here tonight? My guest room isn't set up but that folds out." he gestured at the couch. "Not the most comfortable, but probably better than your truck."

Theo swallowed hard. _You don't belong here._ "Why? Why would you let me..."

Matt frowned thoughtfully, then shrugged. "I don't know." he said, "Maybe because having my employee sleeping on the street reflects poorly on me as a business owner, or because I don't want whoever tagged up the front of the gallery to do something worse to you, or it could just be the right damn thing not to let a friend sleep in the cold if you can avoid it." Matt lifted Theo's chin, meeting the chimera's eyes with a warm smile. "Take your pick, but the offer's there." 

Theo leaned in, unconsciously sniffing at Matt's hand curiously.

"Yeah, sorry. I probably smell all chemical-y huh?" Matt started to pull his hand back but Theo gripped the retreating hand.

Theo shook his head, "'s not bad." he said softly, sniffing at the hand. Then a bit louder "You'd really let me stay here?"

Matt nodded "Sure. Help me move the table?" He stood and started pushing the table to one side as if Theo asking meant a _Yes_ to the offer, and Theo stood to help.

With the coffee table out of the way Matt gave Theo's shoulder a squeeze and left, returning with a folded set of clean sheets and a blanket. Theo had moved the cushions to the floor and pulled the bed out, and he took the linens Matt offered. Looking at the blanket he asked nervously "Can you get my blanket from the truck?"

Matt nodded. "Sure. I'll bring your clothes and stuff in too? You can throw your laundry in with mine if you want."

"Thanks." Theo mumbled, pulling the sheets onto the sofabed as Matt went out to the truck to retrieve his belongings.

**

Matt made three trips out to the truck all told. He brought Theo his blanket and the small stack of clean clothes from behind the seats, the larger stack of dirty clothes which he brought straight to the laundry room, and finally he brought in Theo's backback of toiletries.  
Handing the backpack to Theo he showed the young chimera to the bathroom. "I'm right in here," Matt tapped the door frame "just give a yell if you need anything, alright?" and Matt retreated through the door quietly.

Theo brushed his teeth and padded back out to the couch. He peeled of his shirt, jeans, and socks, folding them next to the bed, and curled up beneath the sheets and his wool blanket clad in just his underwear. The first time he'd slept in a bed for months, and even though Matt had apologized for the "lousy sofa-bed mattress" it was definitely an improvement from the bench seat in his truck. He inhaled deeply, mentally sorting through the mix of scents. _Mine_ he thought, _Liam's blanket_ a spicy clean note of sweat and sage mixed with the wool, _Matt's scent_ cinnamon mixed with the chemical and straw smells from the gallery. He shut his eyes and drifted to sleep. _Safe..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Best laid plans of publishing this on Monday waylaid by being sick for the last 4(!) days, but it's edited and published now. May the lord have mercy on my drug-addled grammar skills.


	8. A Nightmare.

Matt woke to a crashing sound from the living room. Climbing out of bed in his boxerbriefs he dashed out of his room as Theo's voice rang out - a wordless yell rising to a keening howl.  
Theo was on the floor, tangled in the sheets. His back was pressed to the wall as he whimpered, eyes shut and a sheen of sweat over his body. He mumbled hoarsely "I'm sorry. Please, I'm sorry."

Matt dropped down beside the panicked chimera. "Theo. Hey. It's alright." He said softly, shaking the boy's arm. "Wake up Theo."

 _Theeeeeeeeeo_ Tara's voice rang in his ears. _Miiiiiine. Give it back Theo._. Theo tried to back away from his sister's advancing hand, stopped by the solid wall behind him. Panic swelled in his throat...

"THEO!" Matt shouted. Wrapping his arms around the thrashing boy he pulled Theo's back against his chest, restraining his flailing arms. "WAKE. UP. You're OKAY!"

Theo whined, eyes popping open and flying around the room. _Not my truck. Where am I? Tara's coming!_ "Where's my sister?" he panted, looking around the room frantically "Where's Tara?!" He tried to twist free from whatever was holding him.

"Theo it's Matt. Your sister isn't here. Do you know where you are?"

 _Matt._ Theo smelled blood, glancing down at his hands he saw his claws out, wet red streaks on the arm around his chest. _Fuck. NO!_

"Are you alright Theo?" He felt Matt's chest rumbling against his back as the man's baritone voice filled his ears.

Theo shook his head roughly. _You just hurt people. Monster. Evil._ He felt Matt's arms flex and relax around him. "You're... I hurt you. We should get you to the hospital." he whispered, panting to catch his breath and calm his racing heartbeat.

Matt relaxed his grip around Theo's chest and looked at the blood on his forearms. "Hospital? Theo I'm not hurt. You're the one bleeding..." Matt's hand touched a set of claw-scratches on Theo's chest.

Theo's ragged breathing hitched at the stinging touch, the scent of fear hanging thickly in the room now recognizable as his own terror. Looking down at the claw marks on his chest, slowly healing. He shook his head. "I... sorry. I thought I..."

"Nightmare?" Matt asked.

Theo nodded, puling himself away from Matt and sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at his bloody hands as his body started to shake.

The mattress sank next to him and Theo felt a hot hand on his back, rubbing in wide circles between his shoulder blades. Matt whispered "Easy... you're alright. Do you want to talk about it?"

Theo shook his head, turning away from Matt and clenching his jaw.

"Okay," Matt said softly, "Let me go get something to clean you up with."

Theo felt the warm hand lift off his back and the mattress rising as Matt stood. Instinctively he reached out to grab Matt's arm, his grip shaking as the nightmare-fueled adrenaline surge faded. _Pack._ He squeezed the arm and shook his head again.

"Need me to stay?" The mattress sank again under Matt's weight.

Burrowing his face against Matt's chest Theo whispered "Same dream... I keep having the same dream. "Tara... she... she came to take it back."

"Tara... your sister?" Matt asked, rubbing Theo's shoulder as he tried to piece together the thread. "What'd she take back?"

"They told me... they promised to make me stronger. Better. But I had to have it first." Tears streaked down Theo's cheeks "So I took it and now she wants it back. I deserve it. I know I deserve it." Theo shuddered, voice hitching as he whimpered plaintively "It hurts."

"What did you take? What's she trying to get back from you Theo?" Matt asked, confused as he held the shaking boy.

"Her heart. I killed her. I let her die!" Theo sobbed freely now "They promised they would make me better, stronger." - _Theo Raeken. Failure._ \- "I brought her there. I let her die. Let them... I..." he sniffled, choking back a wail in his throat, "I killed my own sister. 'm a monster."

Theo's arms wrapped loosely around Matt's torso. Burrowing his face against Matt's chest he vaguely registered the man's voice as he inhaled the warm mix of Matt's scent and the chemical smells still lingering. "Sounds like you've got quite a story to tell me."

Theo shook his head weakly. _Please don't make me._

Matt ruffled his hair lightly "Not now though. Let's get you cleaned up and back in bed for tonight, okay?"

Theo nodded tentatively, feeling Matt slip out of his loose grip. He opened his eyes to watch Matt walk into the kitchen and return with a bowl and washcloth.

Matt gently dabbed and wiped the blood from Theo's chest. "Damn, I wish I healed half as fast as you." he mused, setting the bowl and washcloth aside.

"'m s'rry" Theo mumbled, exhaustion creeping into his voice. "I'm a lousy guest."

"Because you had a nightmare?" Matt asked, dabbing the last of the blood from Theo's hands. "Don't worry about it." Then he quietly added "I have nightmares too Theo." Matt eased the sleepy chimera down to the mattress and pulled the blankets over him. He started to stand but Theo grabbed for his arm again.

"C'n stay?" Theo whispered, eyes heavy.

"Can you stay? Or can I stay with you?" Matt asked, getting a nod from the sleepy chimera.

Theo pulled himself against Matt's side. "P'z stay. Pack." he mumbled softly as he wrapped himself around Matt's arm.

Matt chuckled, kicking his legs up and leaning against the sofabed's cushions. He put an arm around the drowsy chimera's shoulders and smiled "Alright them, I guess I'm not going anywhere?" he rubbed Theo's hand lightly as the boy curled against him and fell asleep.

**

Matt woke with the sunrise to find Theo still sprawled next to him, head nestled against his side. Stretching his stiff arms he carefully disentangled himself from the sleeping chimera, sliding a pillow into his place. Theo curled around the pillow, hugging it to his chest with a soft throaty noise as Matt laid the sheets and blanket over the sleeping boy. He eyed the scene for a moment, studying the contrast in Theo's peaceful face versus the panic-stricken nightmare just a few hours ago, then retreated to his room and returned with the camera. Crouching next to the couch he carefully framed Theo's sleeping face - Click. With a smile he set the camera aside and padded off to his bathroom to shower and get ready for the day.

*

Theo woke to the smells of breakfast - bacon and pancakes - mixing with the scents lingering around his bed - fear, and his scent, and... _Matt's??_ Memories of his nightmare flooded back, and curling up to sleep on top of his boss. _Oh god._ he thought, _I told him._ Theo groaned as he sat up, the light pouring in through the windows way too bright for morning.  
Standing from the pull-out bed he walked to the wall of photographs, curiously examining the pictures. A pair of women sitting on the shore of a lake holding hands with their backs to the camera, clearly a couple. A man in a flat cap mid-stride in front of a mosaic swirling with color. An elevated train in metallic silver caught the light and Theo eyed it curiously, shifting his head from side to side, watching as different parts of the image shifted from black to shiny silver.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Matt chuckled from the kitchen doorway.

Theo jumped in surprise, turning sheepishly to find his boss already dressed in jeans and a tight gray shirt with a steaming coffee mug on the chest. "Sorry. I... is it really late?"

Matt waved his hand dismissively "Almost 9, I only got up a little while ago. If you quit staring at the wall you can grab a shower and we can get going."

 _Get going._ Theo sighed and nodded. _It doesn't matter. Nobody forgets what you've done._

"Breakfast should be ready by the time you're done." Matt called after Theo as the boy headed toward the bathroom.

"Breakfast?" Theo hesitated. "You don't have to..."

"Part of the package, remember? If you're going to spend your weekend working the least I can do is feed you."

"You still want me to?" Theo asked, turning to stare at the man. "Even after... now that you know?"

Matt nodded "You ARE going to have to fill in some details about that. Not on an empty stomach though alright? Go on, I'll be in the kitchen when you're done."

*

Pulling his shirt on Theo emerged from the bathroom and padded his way into the kitchen barefoot just as Matt was sliding fried eggs onto a plate. "I don't know how you like your eggs, so I hope sunny-side up is alright." He said, taking a seat in front of his own plate loaded with food.

"Yeah, thats.... Thanks." Theo sat, staring at the plate in front of him - two eggs, some bacon, toast. He picked up a small piece of bacon and chewed tentatively.

"There's coffee too if you want, and juice." Matt offered, spearing the yolk of one of his eggs with a piece of toast. "Don't be shy."

"I'm OK." Theo said quietly. "I'm sorry. About last night."

Matt frowned at Theo over his mug of coffee "Theo, you had a nightmare. First night in a bed in a while..." Matt paused glancing at Theo as the boy's eyes dropped to the table "...in a strange place with someone you don't know well. It's hardly surprising." Matt patted Theo's hand. "What you said about your sister though... I don't mean to pry but, well I kinda mean to pry: I think you need to tell me what's up with that."

Theo's eyes dropped to the table. _Monster. You're barely even human._ He swallowed hard and nodded. "I was weak. As a kid. Never really good at sports or anything, clumsy. When I was nine these guys came to me, told me I could be more than I was." He shifted uncomfortably, still staring at the table as he told the story of the dread doctors first visit. "They told me I had to have her heart. I made her take me to the bridge. She always used to take me places." Theo swallowed hard, voice thick with sadness. "I pushed her... the water was so cold, she died in minutes."  
Tears welled in Theo's eyes as he continued. "They cut on me, mixed me into a wolf, coyote, bunch of other things, but not really. Never as good as the real thing, it just made me feel more alone, inferior." Theo sighed. "I wanted to belong to something, and they used that. They brought me here 'n said I could have a pack like a real werewolf..."

"Where are they now?" Matt asked softly, eating another strip of bacon as he watched Theo.

"Dead." The chimera whispered. "They got what they wanted and it killed them." He paused, then continued "I got what I wanted. But nobody wanted me. Because of what I'd done. They sent me to hell." Theo looked up, meeting Matt's eyes "Literally."

Matt raised an eyebrow, then nodded. "And you were punished for what you did?"

Theo nodded.

"And now you're back..."

The Chimera nodded. "They needed me. The pack. So they brought me back. I'm a necessary evil." Theo chuckled at the irony.

"Are you though?" Matt asked, sipping his coffee. His eyes raked across Theo's face regarding the boy carefully "Evil?"

"I killed my sister." Theo said bitterly, meeting Matt's eyes. "I killed Scott."

"I take it he got better then?" Matt said. He smirked and asked "Did you turn that Stiles guy into a newt?" 

"IT'S NOT FUNNY!" Theo shouted - half rising from his chair.

"Well alright maybe it's not." Matt allowed, "You still haven't answered my question though: Are you evil?"

"What else do you call someone who kills their own sister?" Theo whispered.

"Mmh, yes, but that's not the question I'm asking." Matt said, and Theo frowned in confusion.  
"You did some evil shit Theo, I don't think you'd deny that and I'm not going to pretend ." - Theo tensed - "...but you also went to hell. Literally, apparently. I have to imagine that has an impact on a person."  
Matt leaned forward, staring into Theo's eyes. "So I'll ask you again, and I want you to answer me honestly. Are you evil?"

Theo stared back at Matt - eyes locked, he saw his own reflection in the man's pupils and saw his eyes flicker - gold - blue - gold. After a long moment he whispered softly "I... I don't know."

"Good."

"GOOD?!" Theo barked incredulously. "I don't know if I'm evil and that's a good thing?!"

Matt nodded. "It's an honest answer." He rested his palm on the back of Theo's hand "More importantly it's the kind of answer a good person gives when they've done evil things. _I don't know_ may not be the answer you want, but it IS a good answer."

Theo frowned "It doesn't feel good." he whispered.

"No, it doesn't." Matt nodded solemnly, brushing his thumb over Theo's knuckles. He looked at Theo's plate, still mostly untouched in stark contrast to his own nearly-empty one, and added "Food sometimes helps though. You should eat before your breakfast gets all cold and stolen." his hand darted to Theo's plate and snatched a piece of bacon from the boy's plate, popping it into his mouth with a cheshire cat grin.

"Hey!" Theo laughed, glaring at Matt in mock irritation and pulling his plate out of Matt's reach as he ate the remainder of his lukewarm breakfast.


	9. A Development.

Theo followed Matt into the darkroom "I slacked off last night so there's a bunch of film to process still." Matt said, gesturing at the two strips hanging over the sink. He pulled two black tanks from the sink and continued "I figure if you give me a hand developing it we can get that done pretty quick?"

"I don't know anything about developing film..." Theo started, stepping back.

"You didn't know much about hanging lights, but you're a quick study." Matt handed one of the tanks to Theo with an easy smile.

Theo stared at the tank in his hand, echoes of a distant voice buzzing in his mind. _Theo Raeken. Failure._ He shook his head "I don't want to fuck it up."

"Well the good news is you can only fuck up one roll at a time." Matt smiled, pawing through the refrigerator and pulling out a fresh roll of film he offered it to Theo. "Here, practice roll. I'll show you how to load the tank with the lights on and then we can do it for real."

Theo made no move to take the roll, instead stepping back while staring at the tank in his hand like it would come to life and bite him if he made a wrong move. He chewed lightly at the inside of his lip as his breathing quickened. _Disappointment._

Matt frowned, at Theo's body language and leaned against the edge of the sink. "Look, honestly? I could chuck two rolls at a time in each of these tanks, double-fist 'em, and probably be done in the same amount of time as having you help me." Theo visibly relaxed at this option, but Matt continued "Thing is processing film alone is soooo boring, and I'd really like some company. Just humor me and try?" Matt hesitated for a second and added "You can load the studio rolls, that way even if one gets ruined we can just re-shoot it later. That fair?"

Theo swallowed hard, and nodded taking the practice roll from Matt's hand. "OK. Show me what to do."

**

Theo thought loading the tank was easy with the lights on. Matt had shown him how to load film onto the reel and assemble the tank, and once he had the process down Matt made him do it while looking up at the ceiling, and finally with his eyes closed. Each time the film easily threaded onto the reel and all the parts clicked together, even when he couldn't see what he was doing. But now, in the dark, everything felt different somehow. _You ruin everything._  
Theo fumbled with the edge of the film, pulse quickening. "Fuck... come on. Dammit!" Theo grumbled, struggling with the reel "I can't get this!" he growled in frustration, staring down at his hands uselessly in the pitch black. _Failure._

"Theo, relax. What's wrong?" Matt's voice from the sink was calm, accompanied by the soft scraping noise of his film reel loading.

"I can't... it won't go on! The stupid film keeps..." Theo stammered in frustration. He heard a slide-click from the sink - Matt locking his tank shut - and felt a light breeze, Matt's scent stronger as approached.

"Okay, show me." Matt said from behind Theo.

Theo opened his mouth to complain that he CAN'T show him because it's fucking DARK when he felt Matt's fingertips slide down his forearms, fingers following his to the film and reel. Tensing he started to let go so Matt could take the reel from him.

"Don't let go." Matt said sharply, holding Theo's hands together around the reel. Then more gently "You've got this, okay? Here." Matt guided Theo's left hand to the edge of the reel. "Feel. You're not in the guide, that's why the film won't go on. So just hold it like this..." Matt turned the reel in Theo's hands, "and push a little with your thumb..." his thumb found Theo's and pressed it against the film, popping it into the guide. Matt let go of Theo's hands "Now go ahead and load it."

Theo tentatively twisted the reel, feeling the film threading on like the practice roll had. He finished loading the film, slid the reel into the tank, and locked the funnel in place. "OK, I...think I did it?"

Matt's arm slid past Theo's side and moved across the bench, feeling around. "Okay, yeah that's backing paper, and... the funnel's in and locked. Yup." Matt moved away and the lights came on, Theo blinking at the sudden brightness. "Now let's get to the fun part."  
Waving Theo over to the sink he pulled down two stacks of beakers from the shelf above the sink and offered one to Theo.

"You know I failed chemistry..." Theo demurred, eyeing the beakers and the shelf of chemicals they came from nervously.

"Don't worry," Matt chuckled. "We're not doing anything complicated." Flipping the tank over Matt pointed at a chart embossed into the plastic. "This is the film size we're using, so it says we need half a liter of everything to make sure we cover the film." Matt unstacked his beakers and motioned for Theo to do the same. "I have stock solutions premixed so really we just need to dilute the developer down." Matt said, pulling a graduated cylinder with a white **D** painted on it from the shelf. "Oh, do you want gloves?"

"You're not wearing any." Theo observed.

"No I'm not, but I'm also not a werewolf. You have that whole heightened senses thing going on and some of this stuff" - Matt waived his hand at the chemical containers casually - "will make your hands smell funny. Nothing's really dangerous, so it's up to you. They're right there." He pointed to a box on the wall with the wrist of a disposable blue glove hanging out.

"I'm good." Theo said, and Matt nodded.

Pulling the stock bottles down from the shelf Matt showed the chimera how to mix each solution. At each step Theo copied Matt's moves, noting the scent ofeach solution as he mixed them. The sweet wet-straw scent from the developer was barely noticeable, but the vanilla-vinegar sting in his nose from the stop bath had him pausing and sniffing curiously.

"Don't huff the chemicals Theo." Matt said, handing him the fixer bottle. "And try not to spill this one on your hands."

Theo poured the fixer into his beaker, sniffing at it despite Matt's admonition and wrinkling his nose. _Sulfur and metal?_ Not a bad smell, but definitely distinctive - something he'd come to associate with the gallery and his boss.

Matt laughed at Theo's face as he capped the bottle "I told you not to huff the chemicals. My dog used to hate that smell."

"I'm not a dog!" Theo said defensively, then "It's... I don't mind it. The smell."

"Yeah?" Matt's lip quirked up in a half-smile "Maybe we'll make a photographer of you yet." Pulling his phone out Matt plugged it into a cable on the shelf and started a playlist, then pointing to a chart on the wall he began to walk Theo through the developing process.

**

A little over a half hour of pouring chemicals and shaking the tank later Theo was pulling a long strip of film off the reel. He watched the dark strip rolling out in his hand and his heart sank. _I ruined it._ He bit his lip nervously as Matt turned to him, holding out two steel clips.

"Here, clip it up and use the second clip to weight the bottom so it doesn't curl up." Matt offered, and Theo clipped the strip to the thin line over the sink dejectedly. "Looks good." Matt smiled.

"It does?" Theo asked, and Matt nodded, holding a white tray behind the strip. Theo noticed the clear lines between each frame, and the pale white outline of a wolf sitting on a chair at the end of the strip. "Oh." he grinned - _I didn't ruin it!_ , then tilting his head he looked at the frame. "It looks weird..."

"Yeah, everything is backwards. You get used to looking at negatives after a while. Ready to do the rest?" Matt grabbed another two rolls from the small pile of film waiting for them.

**

Four hours later Theo was pulling the last roll of film off its reel. He had commandeered the aux cord and danced playfully to the beat of _Wildest Ones_ pumping out of the speakers as he pulled the film off the reel. He heard the distinctive sound of a shutter click and spun to face the light trap hallway where Matt was loweing the camera grinning.

"You got some moves man!" Matt walked over and looked at the roll as Theo clipped it up. "Not bad taste in music either."

Theo blushed lightly and looked at the strips dangling over the sink. "Thanks. What do we do next?" he asked.

"What happened to mister I-don't-want-to-fuck-it-up?" Matt smirked as the tips of Theo's ears flushed a deeper crimson. "Next is dinner. Pizza sound good? I can go grab a pie while you rinse and dry everything, and then when we're done we can cut the film for Monday."

Theo nodded, and Matt stepped out, leaving the smiling chimera to his cleanup duties.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Filler Filler Filler Filler.... (it's sad when editing your filler chapters takes longer than your real chapters)


	10. A Fight.

Theo heard the back door open just as he was coming out of the darkroom. "Hey Matt, is the film supposed to...What the hell?!"  
Liam and Mason were helping Matt into the office, Mason setting a dented pizza box on the desk. Theo saw the blood spattered down his boss' shirt, along with a swollen lip and an angry bruise beginning to bloom on the side of his face. He ran over as Matt sat in the desk chair.  
"What happened?" Theo demanded. Eyes flashing gold he grabbed Liam's shirt "Who did this to him?"

"Hey, get your hands off him!" Mason grabbed Theo's forearm, getting a warning growl from the chimera in return.

"Theo, I'm okay." Matt's voice pierced through Theo's fog of anger and he turned to face his boss, letting Liam's shirt fall from his hand. "Some guys decided to start a little trouble," Matt grunted, pulling open the desk drawer and rummaging through a first aid kit. "Four on one, not exactly Marquis of Queensbury rules. These two fine young men came to my aid, unfortunately after the pizza got dented." Producing an instant cold-pack from the kit he slammed it on the desk and laid it over his scraped knuckles.

"Yeah, and after you laid out two of them." Mason said, his tone clearly impressed.

"Who was it?" Theo asked again, thumb grazing across Matt's bruised knuckles. He sniffed for any scent that might reveal who attacked him, but all he could recognize was Liam and Mason. He growled again as Matt winced in pain, sliding his hand up to grip Matt's wrist lightly as thin black lines trailed up his arms. He winced as the pain coursed through him, more than he'd expected, but kept his hand on the man's arm as Liam and Mason exchanged looks.

Matt shook his head. "I didn't recognize them, and they didn't exactly stick around once these two showed up."

"Hunters." Liam growled sullenly, turning his eyes to meet Theo's. "They fought like hunters."

"Mmh, this something you deal with a lot then?" Matt asked, opening the pizza box to reveal a lopsided pie. "Ah, my favorite: Half cheese and pepperoni with mushrooms, and half naked bread!" he chuckled, taking a slice with some toppings still remaining. "We should eat it before it gets cold as well as dented." He turned to face Mason and Liam "You guys are welcome to have some too, least I can offer."

Theo reluctantly let go of Matt's wrist, taking a mostly-intact slice from the pie. He pulled a chair over and edged in close to Matt's side as they ate. _Protect._

"So uh... how's the project going?" Mason asked, taking a bite of his pizza.

"I think we've got a few good shots." Matt said thoughtfully. "We can cut film and get started doing test prints on Monday, probably knock together a basic concept so you guys can see what I've got in mind."  
Theo shifted nervously and Matt smiled "Don't worry I promised you final approval on anything we use, remember?" and the chimera visibly relaxed.

Addressing Theo around a mouthful of pizza Liam asked "What kind of pictures did you take?"

"Just some portraits and stuff around the preserve." Theo answered quietly.

"Like what? Where in the preserve?" Liam pressed.

"Just around." Theo's eyes darted nervously.

"Around where?"

"Why do you care?" Theo snapped.

Liam glared at Theo suspiciously "Why won't you tell me?"

"You're not my keeper Liam!"

Liam's hands balled into fists. Eyes flashing he growled and started to stand, but Matt's hand rested on his shoulder and firmly pressed him to the chair.

Meeting the beta's surprised eyes Matt said softly "You're not going to attack your friend just because he wants to preserve some mysteries until later, are you? I would really prefer not to be cleaning blood off my floor."

Liam exhaled slowly through his nose, glaring sullenly at Theo. "No. I was just curious." He shook his head and unclenched his fist, the tension in his shoulders still evident. "I... It's fine if you don't want to tell me." He said to Theo, looking down at his pizza dejectedly.

"We ran on the hill trails," Theo said quietly, "and down by the river. I... you'll see in the pictures okay?"

Liam nodded. "Okay."

Mason coughed. "Uh, Li? It's almost 8, we're supposed to be at Scott's..."

"Oh crap!" Liam jumped up, "Right, let's go." he started toward the door then paused, turning to Theo. "Are you gonna come? You never texted me back..."

Theo shook his head "I'm working Li..."

"No you're not." Matt interrupted, giving Theo's shoulder a squeeze. "I can cut and sleeve the film, go have some fun."

"If you're coming you can take Liam so I can pick up Corey." Mason added.

"I..." Theo glanced at Matt "...don't want to be out too late, I'm kinda tired." he finished, looking at Liam

"One movie and you can go if you want." Liam said, grabbing Theo's wrist and pulling the Chimera out the door still chattering "...promised I'd pick up snacks and soda."

"That boy is one ball of energy isn't he?" Matt chuckled as the door swung shut behind the pair.

"Yeah, he is." Mason squinted at Matt and frowned "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" Matt asked, folding the empty pizza box into the trash.

"Look Liam's my best friend but he's mister IED. When he gets mad he doesn't just calm down. I mean he's broken Theo's nose more than once in smaller arguments than that." Mason met Matt's eyes "And I saw you fight. I've seen Liam fight, I've seen _Scott_ fight," he said warily "you..."

Matt chuckled "...can fight? Yes. When I have to."

"Not like that." Mason argued. "What are you?" Mason asked.

"A photographer."

"You know what I mean."

"Are you asking if I'm dangerous?" Matt smiled.

Mason closed the distance between them, standing face-to-face with Matt. "Are you?"

"If I were..." Matt said softly, rocking up from the desk to his full height and coldly staring Mason down "then provoking me might not be the smartest course of action." Mason swallowed, not breaking eye contact with Matt, and the older man laughed. "That probably wouldn't stop you though would it?" He said, sitting on the edge of the desk again.  
"Am I dangerous..." Matt mused aloud. "Well you've seen me fight so I'm certainly not going to lie and say no. How about 'Yes, but not to you?'" he offered.

"Why should I believe that?"

Matt shrugged. "You probably shouldn't, at least until you know me better. It's the truth though."

Mason frowned, then nodded and stood to leave.

"Oh," Matt called after Mason, "tell your friend Corey I've got a few other books for him when he's through with Mapplethorpe. Nothing quite as risque, but I think he'll like them." The gallery door clicked shut behind the departing young man.


	11. A Drive.

Theo turned the key in the ignition, the truck's engine roaring to life. "Thanks." he said quietly. "For, you know, helping Matt."

"I don't think he really needed our help." Liam turned in his seat to face the chimera. "I saw when they went at him and he... I think he let them hit him." Liam finished uncertainly.

"He let them throw the first punch?" Theo pulled out of the parking lot and turned toward Scott's neighborhood. "I guess he seems like that sort of guy..."

Liam shook his head "No, like they threw the first punch and he let it connect. I saw him fight, he could have dodged it. I think he could have dodged every punch. He **let** them hit him." Liam emphasized. He tugged on the string of his hoodie for a moment, then added "We weren't that far away. It only took me a few seconds to run over and two of them were already on the ground."

"So he can fight." Theo said tensely, eyes on the road. "That's probably a good thing in this town."

"Dude, he could probably kick your ass. Hell he could probably kick **Scott's** ass!" Liam paused, then "I don't think he's..."

"Don't, okay?" Theo snapped defensively. "He's..." _Pack._ "...He's my friend." Theo finished lamely.

"Friend?" Liam squinted at Theo's inflection "Dude. I know he's your boss and you need this job or whatever, but you're..." he screwed up his face and made a vague gesture.

"What? NO!" Theo shouted. _Do I smell jealousy?_  
"We... He... I just trust him, alright, so can you just trust me?" Theo glanced over at Liam, eyes pleading for the beta to understand.

"He hasn't done anything... you know, weird?" Liam asked.

Theo's mind raced. _He saw my eyes and hired me anyway. The pack invaded his store and he didn't care. He found me sleeping in my truck and took me in. I told him I'm a killer and he made it be OK._ "No." - then after a beat "Besides being my friend."

"I'm your friend." Liam said quietly. "'s not that weird."

"Are we?" Theo asked, his voice quivering slightly. "Friends?"

"I'm still not going to die for you." Liam answered, smelling the sadness from Theo. "But I do trust you. A little." he added.

The scent of sadness lifted and the corner of Theo's mouth curled up in a small smile. "Thanks littlewolf."

"Don't call me tha.. OH! Grocery store!" Liam pointed out the windshield. "I'm supposed to bring snacks. Can we stop?"

Theo turned into the store's parking lot with an exaggerated sigh "Sure Liam. Let's go shopping. Everyone's favorite passtime." he joked as he parked the truck. Liam leapt out and sprinted for the door as Theo grabbing a shopping cart as he followed the beta into the store.


	12. A Movie.

Theo followed Liam into the McCall house carrying bags of snacks and soda and ran straight into a snarling were-coyote. "What's HE doing here?" Malia sneered at Theo.

"He's here for pack night." Liam said, stepping between the chimera and the coyote. "Please don't hit him." He added.

"This was a bad idea..." Theo started, hesitating at the icy glare from Malia.

Scott came in as Theo started to turn to the door "Hey! Snacks!" he called, jogging over to meet the pair he pulled them toward the kitchen. "Everyone's starving. Lets open those up!"

Theo followed Scott into the kitchen where Lydia and Stiles were arguing the relative merits of the night's movie choices, Stiles holding up the original Star Wars DVDs. Hand on her hip Lydia frowned disapprovingly at the plaid-shirted boy. "Stiles, if I let you have your Star Wars trilogy night then Malia and I are picking the next 4 movies." Lydia said matter-of-factly.

"Fine. Liam hasn't seen ANY of the originals and that's a sin that HAS to be corrected. I can't leave him a Star Wars virgin and go back to... What is HE doing here?!" Stiles blurted, pointing at Theo.

"Watching Star Wars apparently?" Theo responded ripping open a bag of Doritos and pouring them into the bowl Scott handed him.

"I thought it'd be good." Liam said. "You know, for him to be here. In case we want to talk about..."

"What? His creepy hunter boss and his equally-creepy werewolf-of-the-month calendar?" Stiles rolled his eyes.

"He's not creepy." Theo snapped, Liam simultaneously responding "I don't think he's a hunter."  
"He got jumped by a bunch of them today." Liam continued, pulling Scott and Stiles aside he began explaining the earlier events.

*

Lydia opened a can of Coke and walked up beside Theo. "Boss?" she asked as she poured the soda into a glass. "Where are you working?"

"The new gallery downtown. Silver's Light." Theo said sheepishly. The banshee hadn't been overtly hostile toward him since he came back. He was under no impression that she'd forgiven any of his actions, but at least she treated him like a person.

"I heard that would be opening soon. Who's running it?" she asked curiously.

"Matt Mason." Theo opened a can of soda, drinking directly from the can.

"The photographer?" Lydia frowned at Theo's nod, "My mom has one of his prints, butI thought he quit the art world almost ten years ago. He hasn't released any new work or done any shows in at least that long."

"Well I guess he's back." Theo shrugged, "He's got this idea about doing a 'Werewolves of Beacon Hills' project after... ya know." Theo trailed off.

"I know? What do I know?" Lydia asked.

"After the gallery got vandalized. 'cuz he hired me." Theo said sheepishly. "He asked Scott - I thought he would have told everyone?"

"Apparently not." Lydia frowned at the boys across the kitchen. "When is this all happening?"

"Well Scott didn't say yes." Theo took another drink of his soda. "He... Scott wanted to see some pictures first, and I kinda volunteered to be the first model."

Lydia nodded. "Just werewolves?"

"He didn't say that." Theo said hesitantly. "He... I think he'd probably do a whole pack thing."

"Hmm." Lydia nodded thoughtfully. "I might have to meet him."

"Meet who?" Stiles asked as he came back to the counter along with the rest of the pack, Mason and Corey bringing up the rear.

"Theo's boss. If you're all going to do a pack photo shoot someone has to make sure you don't make a disaster of it" Lydia said, flicking the collar of Stiles' plaid shirt disdainfully.

"Hey! This is comfortable!" Stiles said indignantly.

"And hideous." Lydia replied. Taking her glass of soda and one of the bowls she headed toward the living room with a sigh "Now come on, let's get this nerd-fest of yours over with."

*

After sitting through two hours of Stiles' running commentary on A New Hope Theo hadn't planned to stay for the other two movies. He started to head for the door after the credits rolled, but Liam grabbed his sleeve in protest.

"Wait, you're leaving?" The beta asked, looking up at Theo from his spot on the floor.

"Yes Liam. It's late. I worked all day. I want to go home."

"Don't go." Liam pleaded, "C'mon it's the first time I'm seeing Star Wars. I want to see it with my friends - my pack."

 _Not my pack._ Theo thought bitterly, but he indulged the begging beta and agreed to stay. He did excuse himself to the bathroom and text Matt between movies though.

**TR:** "Pack wants to do a movie marathon"  
**MM:** "Fun. What you watching?"  
**TR:** "Star Wars - the originals. 2 left"  
**TR:** "Stiles says he can't leave Liam a Star Wars Virgin"  
**MM:** "Liam was probably better off. 6 hours of his life he'll never get back."  
**TR:** "Too late? I can leave now"  
**MM:** "No. Enjoy your bad movies"  
**MM:** "and tell Stiles the only virginity that matters is Rocky Horror."  
**TR:** "Never seen it"  
**MM:** *Sad Face*  
Theo stared at the screen for a second, then replied  
**TR:** "I'll sleep in my truck so I don't wake U."  
**MM:** "Fuck that I already unfolded the couch. Door's unlocked."  
**TR:** "Sorry. U sure?"  
**MM:** "Don't apologize. Go have fun!"  
Theo bit his lip - _Protect. He's alone. Not safe._ \- but swallowing down his concern he typed back  
**TR:** "K. Thanks."  


Theo came back to the living room as Episode 2 started, the pack having rearranged themselves. Scott and Malia were on one half of the long couch, with Stiles and Lydia occupying the other having a quiet but heated debate over something. Corey and Mason were on the other couch, the chameleon's head leaning against his boyfriend's arm. Liam sprawled on the floor leaning against the couch near Mason, and Theo found an open spot on the floor between the beta and a full bowl of chips.

Five minutes into _The Empire Strikes Back_ Liam turned to stiles and threatened to shove a lacrosse ball in his mouth if he didn't knock off the commentary, a suggestion which was greeted by a round of laughter from the rest of the pack and successfully managed to limit Stiles to only the occasional outburst. By the end of the second film Liam was getting drowsy and occasionally leaned against Theo, which normally would have been annoying except for the sleepy noises the beta made. Theo jabbed him lightly in the ribs when _Return of the Jedi_ started

"We're watching these for you ya know." Theo said with playful irritation.

"'m awake." Liam grumbled, batting Theo's hand away, then sniffing lightly. "You smell funny."

"Its the chemicals from work Liam. You didn't let me shower before we came here." Theo inhaled, the mix of scents oddly comforting now.

The movie drew to a close, the final credits rolling, and the pack began to stretch. Liam rolled over, his face pressing against Theo's shoulder again. "You smell funny." The beta grumbled again.

Theo shoved Liam away with a nervous smile as he stood up. "Quit huffing me littlewolf." He grumbled, gathering up some of the empty soda cans.

Malia sniffed at Theo curiously "You smell like someone." She commented.

"You smell like your boss!" Liam said triumphantly, grinning at Theo.

Theo moved away from the two curious noses. "Of course I smell like him." he growled. "If I worked with you all day I'd smell like you too Liam." he added, carrying the empty cans into the kitchen. He yawned as he handed them to Scott to rinse out.

"Are you tired?" Liam asked as he walked in. "Why don't you stay here? I'm sleeping over." Liam declared as he brushed the crumbs from an empty bowl into the trash.

Theo snorted. "Like that'll go over well with Scott's mom? She hates me."

"She doesn't hate you Theo. . . . She just doesn't like you much." Scott conceded.

"Story of my life." Theo muttered, then louder "It's fine. I should go though, it's late." Grabbing his jacket Theo stepped out the back door of the McCall house and started toward his truck.

"Theo. Wait up." Scott said as he jogged up to meet the chimera at his truck. "Are you okay?"

Raking the alpha with his eyes Theo sensed only genuine concern. He hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. Yeah I am Scott."

"Liam told me about what happened." Scott said quietly. "You know the sheriff's trying to find out who's involved in all this but you shouldn't be alone. We should at least know where you're staying." Scott added.

"I'm fine." Theo said. "I'll probably be working most of the time anyway and Liam told you Matt can fight. I can text you if anything happens that I can't handle."

Scott shook his head "Theo... Stiles is right, there's something off about that guy, especially if he fights like Liam said."

"Scott he's..." _Pack_ \- _Friend_ "...you're always going on about giving people a chance. Even me, right? So give him a chance."

Scott chewed his lip for a moment then nodded. "Alright, but I want to know out more about him and Stiles is gonna keep digging." he declared.

"I don't think he'd mind that." Theo said softly as he climbed into his truck. "You could probably just talk to him though."

"I'll probably do that too."

"Thanks." Theo added, "For letting me stay tonight."

"You coming next weekend? Same time but I'm not sure whose house yet." Scott asked

"Yeah. I can try... let me know where OK?"

"OK." Scott smiled, turning to walk back to the house as Theo drove off.


	13. A Memory.

Theo quietly shut the door behind him as he entered the house, locking it. Matt had left lights on for him, and stacks of clean clothes sat on the couch next to the pull-out bed. A note on the stack read _Tomorrow we make up the other room for you._ with a pair of keys under the writing to hold the paper down.  
Theo smiled at the note, pulling his shirt off and folding it next to the bed. He pulled off his shoes and padded to the bathroom to brush his teeth, stopping when he heard a soft whimper from Matt's room. Pressing his ear to the door he heard Matt's voice mumbling quietly, his heartbeat rapid. Theo pushed open the door "Matt?" He asked quietly, stepping into the doorway.

Theo could see the sweat on the man's face as he twisted and thrashed under the blanket, whining softly. The scent in the air was one Theo was all too familiar with: Terror and sadness.

_Protect._ The voice in Theo's head propelled him into the room. "Wake up." he said, shaking the sleeping man's shoulder gently. Theo froze as Matt recoiled from the touch, then tried again, shaking the man's shoulder harder until his eyes popped open.

"NO!" Matt shouted, panic flashing through Matt's eyes as his hand grabbed onto Theo's arm forcefully. He blinked in confusion for a moment and whispered "T...Theo?"

Theo nodded "Are you okay?" he asked softly as Matt's grip loosened.

Matt sat up, scrubbing his hands over his face with a sigh. "Yeah. Yeah I'm alright."  
Theo heard the skip in Matt's heartbeat and eyed the man skeptically, getting a chuckle from Matt. "No worse than I've been for a while at any rate." He reached to the nightstand and picked up a necklace coiled in front of a small picture frame.

"Bad dream?" Theo asked tentatively, watching his boss roll and click the individual rings on the necklace against each other.

"Mmh." Matt said softly, staring at the picture. "Not bad. Just...memories." The photo was the only one Theo had seen with Matt in it: He and another man on the shore of a lake, wearing matching chains though the other man had a single ring hanging from his.

"Friend?" Theo asked, nodding at the frame.

"Husband," Matt said, "or he would have been if that was a thing."

"Oh." Theo said softly. The scent of sadness rolling off the man deepened and Theo watchedas a tear glistened at the corner of Matt's eye before rolling down his cheek. Not knowing what else to do Theo gently touched Matt's free hand. His thumb traced over Matt's scabbed knuckles and for the first time Theo found himself wishing he could take away emotional pain.

"He would have liked this place." Matt's voice was barely above a whisper, and heavy with sadness. "This town - Werewolves and all, right up his alley."

"You want to tell me about him?" Theo offered.

Matt turned to face Theo, blinking, and punched the boy's shoulder lightly. "You flipping roles on me wolfman?" he smiled.  
Before Theo could answer Matt nodded. "I would like to. But not tonight, okay?" Matt stood from the bed, black boxerbriefs a stark contrast to his legs and torso in the moonlight, and coiled his necklace in front of the picture frame. "I'm going shower the sweat off and go back to sleep." He said, patting Theo's shoulder. "You should get some rest too."

**

Theo lay awake on the sofabed staring at the ceiling. He listened to Matt's shower run and stop. He heard the man get into bed, and he would have thought Matt was sleeping until he heard the soft sniffle and irregular hitch in the man's breathing.  
He listened for a moment longer before sliding out of his bed. Moving more on instinct than intent his body slowly shifted as he made his way to Matt's door, shrinking down to all fours in his wolf form. He nudged the door open with his muzzle and slid in through the narrow opening, padding his way up to the side of Matt's bed. Theo's sensitive nose picked up both sadness and the scent of tears.  
Resting his face on the side of the bed Theo looked at Matt, arm across his eyes, and chuffed quietly. When Matt didn't react Theo hopping his paws up on the bed he leaned closer and let out a soft "Wuff", drawing Matt's attention.

Turning and sliding his arm off his face Matt met Theo's cobalt wolf-eyes with his own eerie slate-gray. He smiled through the tears running from the corner of his eyes. "Theo? What are you doing?"

Theo chuffed softly and nudged Matt's arm with his muzzle, staring at the man. _Pack._ He pressed his weight forward on his paws, the bed sinking slightly as he hopped up and settled, face on his paws staring at Matt curiously.

"Theo, I'm alright. You don't have to..." Matt began, but Theo growled softly and pushed his snout under Matt's arm, smearing a tear streak on the man's cheek with his nose.

Matt sighed softly and slid his hand over Theo's head, fingers lacing through the fur as he slid between the wolf's ears and lightly stroked his neck. "Okay." He said softly. "Thanks." He closed his eyes, breathing slowing. Theo kept watching as he drifted off to sleep, mumbling softly "lil'....fluffy."


	14. A Bed.

Theo woke in an empty bed, the alarm clock on the nightstand proclaiming it to be 10:48, and a small stack of his clothes sat next to it. Matt's scent still lingered on the sheets and Theo rolled on the bed for a few seconds, instinctively mixing their scents before hopping off the bed and shifting back to his human form.  
Pulling on the shirt and jeans left for him Theo padded out of Matt's bedroom and ran straight into Matt carrying a large black bag.

"Hey you're up!" Matt smiled, shifting the bag to the floor. "I was just moving some stuff out of the spare room for you."

"You don't have to... I'm fine on the couch." Theo protested.

"Theo, it's a sofabed in the middle of the living room. There's an actual honest-to-god bed in here, and a door you can close for privacy."

 _Privacy._ "I'm sorry. About last night... in your room." Theo paused, "I was just worried because I heard... I thought... I won't do it again." Theo finished quickly.

"Huh?" Matt blinked. "Theo, you were worried and you came to check on me. It was a little unexpected but I'm not mad about it or anything."

"You're pack." Theo said without thinking.

"That's nice of you to say Theo," Matt replied, "but I'm not a wolf..."

"That doesn't matter." Theo insisted. "Stiles isn't a wolf, but he's part of Scott's pack. A pack protects each other. Keeps each other safe. And you... when I was hurting talking to you helped." he said quietly. "I wanted to do that for you."

"Theo..." Matt sighed. Leaning against the wall he closed his eyes. "You're sweet, you know that? Dave would have liked you."

"Your uh... husband?" Theo asked softly.  
Matt nodded and Theo stepped closer. "What happened to him?" he said tentatively.

"Drunk driver," Matt said softly, "walking home from a stupid party I dragged him to."

Theo sensed the subtle change in Matt's scent - sadness and... guilt? "It's not your fault." the chimera offered. "Some asshole got wasted and got behind the wheel."

Opening his eyes Matt shook his head "I know, but he wouldn't have been out that night if I wasn't a bad influence dragging him out to party." He sighed. "So it's not my fault, but I'm not exactly blameless."

"When did it happen?" Theo asked, touching Matt's hand lightly.

"His senior year." Matt said softly, rolling his thumb along Theo's knuckles. "Long time ago and a continent away from here."  
Sinking down the wall to sit on the floor Matt idly thumbed the zipper on the bag and added "He's the one that got me started on the whole photography thing. I came to it for the technical challenges, and he pushed me to take the artistic end of things seriously."

"Was he... Is he how you know about werewolves?" Theo asked curiously.

Matt laughed, shaking his head. "No... No that is definitely a Beacon Hills revelation. The world is a pretty damn weird place though," Matt added, "so it's not the most shocking thing in the world that the stories we heard as kids have some element of truth to them."

Theo knelt next to Matt. "What's in the bag?" he asked softly, pointing at Matt's fingers toying with the zipper pull.

"Mmh?" Matt frowned. "Oh! Spare enlarger." he said, opening the zipper and flipping the bag open, revealing a light gray machine on a silver pole, laid across a wooden board and strapped down. "Figured it'd be useful at the studio."

Theo eyed the machine curiously. "You just have this stuff laying around?" he asked.

Matt grinned "I have all sorts of useless junk sir!" he proclaimed, a faux-fancy lilt to his voice. "This is the enlarger Matt and I used in college when the school's darkroom was full 'cuz it was small enough to set it up in our dorm." Matt patted the side of the lamp house "Did a lot of my early work on it too until we got the beast at the studio."  
Matt stood up, hoisting the bag. "Grab the box off the bed for me and then you can move your stuff in."

**

Theo carried his possessions into the room, tucking his clothes away in the dresser and folding his blanket at the foot of the bed. He tentatively sat on the edge of the bed- the first proper bed he'd had in almost six years, not counting the one in his fake home with his fake parents. Closing his eyes Theo laid back across the mattress and softly hmm'd to himself.   
_Home?_


	15. A Choice.

Theo followed Matt into the gallery office carrying coffee and a bag of hot sandwiches that the older man had declared to be breakfast. Matt set the enlarger bag he brought with them on the desk and motioned to a set of contact sheets laid out on the studio's counter, small square images surrounded by inky black. "So, we're trying to tell a story with these images," he gestured at the pages with an open hand, "and today is all about figuring out what that story will be." Picking up a grease pencil Matt tapped the contact sheets for the studio photos, marking the corner of three images with small orange numbers. The first of Theo standing, arms folded; the second beta-shifted sitting on a backwards chair with a fang-y smile ; the last in his full shift, face resting on his paws. "Unless you hate them I have a plan for these three shots," Matt said, "but the rest I want you to choose. This is your story, so you get to decide how we're going to tell it."

Studying the three marked images Theo frowned. "Aren't those kind of boring?" he asked. He looked over the contact sheets for the studio images, absently taking bites from his sandwich. He pushed the the studio images aside with a frown as he finished his breakfast, turning to the shots from the park. The asymmetry of the last sheet with its final unexposed black frame drew his eye and he grinned at the shot of him dancing with a film tank in his hands, then frowned as his eye found the shot of him sleeping in his truck.  
"When did you take this?" Theo hissed.

"Friday night, when I saw your truck."

"Why?" The chimera whispered, eyes closed.

"Because it's part of your story." Matt said evenly.

"That I'm homeless?" Theo snapped, turning on Matt with tears brimming in his eyes. "A throwaway fakewolf murderer dropout that nobody wants?!" he shouted, voice breaking. "That's what you want to show everyone? That I'm not good enough? That I'm a _FAILURE_?"

"That's not what I see there." Matt said softly, "Look again."

Theo shook his head, "This whole thing was a mistake." His voice sounded hollow in his own ears, but when he tried to turn away from the pages he felt Matt's hand on his arm turning him back.

"Look at the whole story Theo, not just one moment." Matt said softly as Theo struggled to focus through the blur of tears.

Theo followed Matt's finger tracing a path over the page. _Curled under a blanket in his truck with sadness etched on his face._ \- _Wrapped around a pillow under his blanket sleeping with a contented smile._ \- _Standing in front of a darkroom sink with a confident grin._  
"W-What am I supposed to see?" Theo's breath hitched as a tear fell from his cheek and struck the empty last frame of the sheet.

"There's confidence in you." Matt's tone was even, factual. "You are not a failure, Theo Raeken." he continued. "You're not a throwaway, you're a survivor." 

Theo shook his head as his heart raced. _I can't stop crying. What's wrong with me? Why can't I stop crying?!_ "Can't." Theo scrubbed at his face with his palms, smearing the tears from his cheeks. "Can't... I... can't... s-stop...."

"Shhhhh" Matt slid his hand in slow circles on Theo's back, gently pulling the chimera closer. "Deep breaths, you're okay."

Theo sniffled and shook his head, pressing his face into Matt's shoulder. "'M not good 'nuff, n-nobody w-wants me." he shuddered, fists balling up Matt's shirt as he clung to the man for support. "Won't a-ac-accept m-me."

"Your pack? Scott and the others?" Matt asked.

Theo nodded wordlessly, fists pulling tighter

"Theo, did you tell any of them? Did they know you were living in your car?"

The chimera shook his head, sniffling.

"You didn't want to tell them?" - another head shake - "You thought people would think less of you for it?"

A nod. "F-f-failure." Theo whispered sadly. "Th-think I'm weak.."

"Part of being strong is asking for help Theo." Matt said said as he caressed the back of Theo's head. "It makes you smart, not weak."  
Gently separating himself from Theo's grasp Matt gently turned him to face the counter again. "Look at the pictures again and tell me your story." he encouraged.

Theo tentatively wiped his eyes and picked up the grease pencil. He stared at the contact sheets before finally marking his selections. _Beta shifted perched in a tree, looming aggressively._ \- _His full shift on the bridge, staring sadly into the water_ \- and finally _Standing in front of the darkroom sink._. He hesitated, then marked the image sleeping in his truck before putting the grease pencil down.

Matt nodded. "Why each of these?" he asked.

Touching the tree image he whispered "I'm dangerous." - he moved his finger to the bridge - "I hurt people. I can't forget that, even if remembering hurts..." - his finger brushed over to the photo of him in the darkroom - "but I'm trying to be better. I can be better."

Matt nodded. "And this one?" he asked, pointing at the shot of Theo in his car.

"After I came back I had nowhere to go and I..." - Theo swallowed hard - "There's someone I wanted to tell but I just couldn't."

"Someone from your pack?"

Theo nodded.

"You want to show them this? The pack?" Matt asked

Theo hesitated, then nodded "Not... not all of them. Not right away. But yeah."

"Okay." Matt said softly. "You need a minute? I can get the room ready..."

"No!" Theo said quickly. "No. I'm okay. I'm supposed to be helping you right?" He asked with a sheepish smile.

"C'mon then." Matt said, grabbing the negative sleeves that matched Theo's selections. "Oh, leave your phone out here," he said tossing his on the desk, "voice of experience: It'll ring, you won't think about it when you pull it out and whatever you're working on will have a big gray blob across it from the screen light."

Theo nodded and set his phone down next to Matt's, following his boss into the darkroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Far, far later than I wanted it to be and I'm still not entirely happy with this edit, but the next two chapters will be less emo-Theo and a lot easier to write.


	16. A Sam.

Matt flipped trays down into the sink, explaining each tray as he moved down the sink mixing chemistry. "...So it's pretty much the same as film, except you can see what you're doing." he concluded. He clicked the lights off and waited a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dim red-orange glow of the room before leading Theo to the enlarger.  
"And this is basically a camera in reverse. Film goes here, shiny side up." he flipped a lever up and pulled out a tray from the machine. Sliding a negative in he pushed the tray back into the enlarger and pushed a button, a blurry image appearing on the easel under the enlarger. "You set the size with this," he turned a large crank on the side of the enlarger and the machine moved up and down on its frame until the image fell in the center of the marked area, "and you focus with this one." he twisted smaller knob and Theo came into focus sitting on a backwards chair with a grin.  
Matt gave each knob on the machine a random twist before clicking off the light and removing the negative. "Your turn." he said with a smile.

Theo slipped the negative he was holding into the carrier and slid it into the enlarger. He hit the button Matt used to turn the light on and fiddled with the enlarger's knobs for a few seconds, watching as the blurry image of his wolf laying on the bridge came into focus... upside-down.  
"The fuck." Theo grumbled. He pulled the negative out and frowned "It's shiny side up..." he muttered.

"Everything's backwards." Matt offered.

Theo frowned, then turned the negative so it was upside-down. Sliding it back into the enlarger he re-focused, the image appearing right-side up at an angle. "It's all tilted...." he mumbled, pushing the negative to the left to cover the frame line. The image shifted right. "Dammit." He pushed it back the other way, framing the image on the easel with a tilt. "It won't sit straight." he whined in frustration. 

Matt reached past the chimera, tilting the easel to match the tilt in the image. "There. I fixed it."  
Theo turned to face Matt, the dim red light and the reflection from the easel lighting the man's grin. "You're worrying too much about making it perfect. Just slap it around and get an image." Reaching past Theo's shoulder he turned a ring on the enlarger's lens, the image getting slightly dimmer. He pushed the switch on the timer from FOCUS to TIME and the enlarger lamp clicked off, and then handed Theo a box of paper. "These two knobs control how long the lamp stays on for. Slide the paper in here then go ahead and try about 8 seconds and we'll see what you get."

Eight seconds later Theo carried the paper over to the sink and slid it into the developer tray. Matt handed him a pair of bamboo tongs. "So you don't get your fingers too smelly." he explained, taking Theo's hand and guiding him to push the paper under the liquid in the tray when it floated up.

"Nothing' happ...OH!" Theo's lips curled up into a smile as the gray ghost of an image slowly emerged on the paper, darkening into the image he expected to see. Matt had him lift the paper out with the tongs, draining it and moving it through the next two trays and finally into a deep tray with water trickling into it.

"Alright, so now just let it rinse for a couple of minutes and we'll take it out into the light and see what it looks..."

A loud bang from the back door cut him off mid sentence. "MATTHEW!" an unfamiliar voice roared. "MATTHEW FUCKING MASON ARE YOU TRYING TO DRIVE ME INSANE?!" A loud thud from the darkroom hall, then another, and a tall figure strode into the room rapidly closing the distance from the entry area to the sink. The voice continued "First you tell me you're pushing the opening because you want to show some new stuff. That's fine, we were going to do it stealth anyway. Then you tell me it's going to be a closed showing, and you need fucking ROLLS of paper but you can't tell me what for. Now I get here and the whole front of the fucking gallery is trashed! What the FUCK..." Theo moved between the stranger and his boss, growling protectively "Oh and who the hell is THIS?!" the voice asked.

In the dim light Theo could make out the trim form of a woman in a leather jacket glaring at him. He felt the sharp sting in his palms as his claws sliding out from his fingertips and dug into the flesh of his hands, instinctively responding to the threat from this person. Then he felt Matt's warm hand close on his shoulder and heard Matt whisper "It's OK." just loudly enough for the chimera to hear.  
"Sam, this is Theo." Matt said, addressing the stranger. "He's working with me on the new project. Give us a minute and we'll be right out okay?"  
The woman rolled her eyes and spinning on her heel she stalked out of the darkroom.

Theo's body hummed with tension, shaking slightly. Through the pulse pounding in his ears the chimera heard Matt's voice calling his name.

"Theo." Matt said softly, turning the chimera to face him. Theo's eyes flashed golden as Matt's hands slid down his arms and gently tugged his wrists over the sink. "Hey, easy. It's alright. Sam's a friend, she's not gonna hurt us." The soft tone of Matt's voice and his steady heartbeat reassured Theo almost as much as the man's scent. He felt warm water running over his hands and winced at the sting as the water ran over the punctures in his palms. "Easy, just rinsing them off okay?" Matt said softly, gently rubbing the backs of Theo's hands. "I'm going to go talk with her before she goes nuclear. You take a couple of minutes, _breathe_ , and come on out when your hands are better okay?"

Theo nodded, still shaking "You sure? She's..."

"...Not half as mad as I've seen her, trust me." Theo could hear the smirk in Matt's voice. "If you're okay with someone else seeing it bring that out too." Matt said softly, gesturing at the print floating in the wash tray near Theo's hands. "It'll help."

***

Theo came out of the darkroom carrying his print in a tray to find Matt leaning against his desk and the woman - Sam - stalking the length of the office area like a caged tiger. "I just don't understand why you want to do it as a private show." she groused. "I mean new work, great, the press would go wild, but coming back at a new gallery in the middle of nowhere with some new stuff that nobody can see?"

"It's not my project Sam," Matt said calmly. "If the models and the other artists agree then maybe we'll do some limited public showings, but I made them a promise."

Sam closed her eyes and ran the fingers of both hands through her tightly cropped copper hair with a sigh. "If I didn't like my shoes so much," she growled, "I would beat you to death with them." Grabbing the chair from the desk she spun it around and sat, facing both Matt and Theo.  
"So." Sam said calmly, "No grand opening. Fine, it's not like either of us need the cash" - she grinned at that - "but can you at least clue me in to this mystery project?"

Theo set the tray down on the desk next to Matt and watched nervously as the woman examined his work, edging closer to Matt's side. "Is it okay?" he said, unsure of who he was asking.

Matt nodded, but Sam spoke first. "It's different." she said, "You've done some weird shit to get a shot but this is a little close to a wild animal don't you think?" she asked, looking up at Matt.

"It's fine." Matt tilted the tray, examining the still-wet image. "And I think there's something to this shot."

"Yeah it's great," the woman allowed, "but you wouldn't be here talking about it if that wolf decided to take your arm off for it."

"That wouldn't happen!" Theo protested, drawing Sam's eye. "I wouldn't... I mean that wolf wouldn't hurt anyone. I... He hangs out in the park, I've seen him before. He's... nice." he finished tentatively.

"Theo introduced us." Matt said more confidently. "He's been helping me arrange shoots where the wolf and I are both comfortable and safe."

"Okayyyy... Well I definitely like the idea." Sam said, regarding the print carefully. "Why don't we show it publicly though? Shots like this sell well to private collections, even calendars..."

"No!" Theo blurted out. "Hunters would... People don't like that there are wolves around here. It wouldn't be safe." he finished.

Matt nodded. "There's a lot going on in this town Sam. You saw the windows. Theo and some of his friends have..." he paused, "a connection to the wolves. I'm really doing this project for them, and they'll decide what we do with the work after." He brushed his finger along the wolf in the print. "Staging this as a public show could go one of two ways: Either everyone around here sees the wolves as an important asset to the town, or they see them as an even bigger threat and... well that could go badly for the wolves."

The woman frowned, then sighed. "Alright. That makes sense I guess." Looking up to the ceiling she continued as much to herself as to Matt and Theo. "Alright. I haven't sent any opening announcements yet - that was going to happen today but I guess I'm not getting you off this new project any time soon so we'll push an official gallery opening. Since there's only one print I'm guessing you're still shooting, maybe another month, then print time, a short showing if it's private is a month, changeover if it stays private, soooooo....April 1st?" she asked, turning her gaze to Matt.

"April 1st works." Matt said with a nod. "If this stays private I'll go with our original plan with selections from _Walking Town_ and _Unrested_ , if it looks like we'll go public I'll be able to get you a catalog and the other details you'll need in March so you can start doing..." he waved his hand vaguely.

"Press releases, invitations, samples, catering, transportation..." Sam said dryly. "And **materials** , which reminds me I have a van full of all the supplies you asked me to bring in but some asshole's truck is blocking the door and I am NOT carrying that fucking monster roll of paper you asked for across the parking lot."

"I think Theo is the 'asshole' in question." Matt said as he clapped his hand on Theo's shoulder. "C'mon, let's move your truck and then we can unload the van and grab lunch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It turns out your author is only *MOSTLY* dead... well actually very much alive but the best laid plans of getting the next 2-3 chapters done got destroyed by closing out the end of the year at $JOB and renovating my bathroom after one of the apartments above flooded the damn thing. Then I sat down to finish this chapter and realized the outline only existed in my paper notebook (!) so it took way longer than expected :x
> 
> The next 2 chapters also only exist in paper outlines too but I'm hoping to have some writing time tomorrow to get them into electronic format and start turning them into chapters.
> 
> Next chapter we should get to see more of everybody's favorite puppy (Liam), and the chapter after may have even more of the pack unless I get lost on the way there and have to write another bridge.


	17. A Wind.

The sky grew steadily darker as Theo, Matt, and Sam unloaded the rental van full of supplies. One entire side of the van was filled with chemistry - the large cubes of liquid chemicals that Theo was used to seeing along with bottles and powders of things he didn't recognize. As Theo and Sam stacked the chemicals in the darkroom where Matt indicated the tall man began breaking down the darkroom sink. "This is taking a while." he said in response to Theo's questioning look as he poured the fixer back into the bottle it came from and marked a dot on the side of the container. "Probably won't get more printing done today, and the chemicals will go bad sitting out in the trays."

"Mmhm. He just doesn't want to haul paper 'cuz it's heavy." Sam said, narrowing her eyes at Matt.

"Not true!" Matt protested with a grin "But my hands ARE wet..."

"Yeah, yeah. C'mon kid," she said addressing Theo, "you look strong enough to help out with the rolls."  
"So how'd you wind up working with Matt?" Sam asked as they walked to the van. "He finally break down and hit up the colleges for interns?"

Wind howled through the trees as Sam and Theo came into the parking lot. to the van. "I'm not in college." Theo said. "He had a help wanted sign up and I came in." He paused before adding "I really needed a job, and I guess he felt bad for me. Pity hire."

Sam snorted. "Matt? He doesn't do pity. You get that end," she said as she grabbed a long box and slid it out a few inches. "I'll walk backwards." With Theo on the other end of the box she lifted it and began walking.

"Why else would he hire someone who's never even been in a gallery before?" Theo asked as he hopped down from the van.

"He does have a way of seeing things in people." Sam said as she backed through the gallery door. Lowering her end of the box she continued "I can tell that shot was his, you printed it?"

"Yeah." Theo said nervously.

Sam nodded, grabbing a plastic strap around the middle of the box and gesturing for Theo to do the same. "He doesn't like other people printing his work," she said, "unless they're in on it. That was your wolf I guess?"  
Theo visibly hesitated before Sam added "I know there aren't any in this part of California. I don't recognize the breed but it sure looks like a wolf." 

"Yeah." Theo said as he helped lift the box. "He's... kind of a hybrid I guess?" he offered tentatively.

"Well I wish I had more time to meet him in person." Sam said as they walked through the darkroom hallway to join Matt.

"She grilling you Theo?" Matt said with a grin. He kicked the wall next to the door "You can lay that down right here. Just the sheet paper left to unload?"

"Yeah." Sam said. "Better hurry if you don't want to get wet."

The trio worked quickly, stacking the boxes of paper on the desk and counters rather than carrying them into the darkroom. Sam closed the back door of the van just as the first raindrops started to fall.  
Alright boys," she said. "I need to get back to the airport before this storm rolls in and traps me on the wrong coast." She stepped up to Theo and gripped his hand, shaking it firmly. "Good to meet you little man." Turning to Matt she opened her arms and hugged him. "You're keeping secrets." she said quietly, Theo only hearing it with his heightened senses. "Is it something you would have told my brother?"

"Dave would have known." Matt said, his voice equally low.

"And would he be worried?" Theo listened to their heartbeats - both steady, calm.

"No more than usual."

Sam stepped back from the hug and nodded. "You'll tell me more about this project when I need to know, yah?"

Matt nodded. "Give me a couple of weeks and I'll let you know."

and Sam punched his shoulder before turning and hopping up into the van. The engine grumbled to life and she leaned out the window. "Two weeks Matthew. I expect a phone call letting me know how this little project is going." she said sternly before grinning and driving off.

"Yes Mother!" Matt called after the van in a mocking tone. The wind began howling through the trees as though echoing that response and a light but steady rain began to fall. "C'mon Theo," Matt said as they walked back into the gallery and he began flipping off breakers. "We worked through lunch, that means we escape early and go make dinner." He nodded at the tray on the counter "Your print should be dry by now, we can take it with us."

After a quick walk through the gallery to be sure everything was put away and locked up Theo sprinted through the now steady rain and jumped into his truck, joined a few seconds later by his very wet boss. He couldn't help but chuckle at Matt's miserable expression.

"It's NOT funny." Matt grumbled as Theo pulled out of the parking lot. "I already took a shower today, and it was much more pleasant when it was warm." Theo snorted, stifling a laugh. "Oh shut up and drive." Matt said, a smile cracking his face. "Whole damn truck smells like wet dog." he teased as Theo headed back to the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's one of those annoying bridge chapters that I hate writing!


End file.
